VW is now the first vehicle manufacturer to develop a Level 4 autonomous driving (AD) service vehicle for large-scale production.

Level 4 AD means that the car can handle the majority of driving situations independently in a defined area, such as a city. It can also drive alone, without passengers.

The German automaker is ramping up the AD technology for the VW ID. Buzz AD with tech company Mobileye following an extensive pilot phase in the US and Germany.

Christian Senger, a management board member at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles responsible for AD, said, “We are developing the first fully autonomous large-scale production vehicle, and Mobileye brings its digital driver on board.”

The main part of the cooperation agreement Volkswagen and Mobileye announced today covers the delivery and use of a self-driving system (SDS) for the ID. Buzz AD, which has been under development since 2021.

The ID. Buzz AD features two independent computers, 13 cameras, nine lidar units developed by Luminar, and five radar units, each capable of producing 360-degree surroundings. A cloud connection provides the autonomous vehicles with swarm data from other road users about the traffic situation and updates to the 3D maps.

Volkswagen Group of America is leading the strategy and business development in the US, and its subsidiary, Volkswagen ADMT (that stands for Autonomous Driving Mobility & Transport), supports the AD program rollout with teams in Belmont, California, and Austin.

Volkswagen ADMT aims to develop a fully electric autonomous ID. Buzz AD for use in the US and European commercial sectors from 2026.

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