VW to Name New Partner for Robot Taxi Development

The Volkswagen Group is planning to launch a fleet of self-driving electric vans, the VW ID.Buzz, operated by its Moia Mobility business in 2025, and this week news broke that Argo AI, the former lead division on the technology, has closed.

The VW Group was a major backer of Argo AI, along with Ford, but both companies decided to stop providing additional funding to the startup due to the slow road to commercialization of self-driving technology.

Ford has scaled back its self-driving ambitions, announcing in its third-quarter earnings release on Wednesday that it will now focus on in-house development of self-driving technology that ranks as Level 2 and 3 on the SAE scale of self-driving vehicles. However, the VW Group is pushing ahead with plans to launch a Level 4 robotic cab service.

Level 4 means that the vehicle can drive itself for extended periods of time under certain conditions, mostly within a geo-fenced area that usually contains very detailed map data. Level 3 is the first level at which the driver can take his eyes off the road, albeit for a short period of time. Drivers must also be prepared to regain control at any time. Level 5 is the ultimate goal for some companies, where self-driving cars rival human capabilities.

VW Group announced Wednesday that it is working with a new partner to develop a robotic cab service.VW Group and the new partner are testing a self-driving Volkswagen ID.Buzz electric van on public roads and will use the van for the final commercial service. According to the VW Group, the service will be implemented in parts of the German city of Hamburg in 2025, with indications that testing could begin on U.S. roads in 2023.

The automaker will also rely on its in-house software development business, Cariad, for self-driving technology; Cariad develops self-driving systems for private cars and in August signed a multibillion-dollar deal with Innoviz to supply lidar sensors the company announced. Cariad is also working with Bosch and Horizon Robotics on self-driving technology and is expected to absorb some of Argo AI's assets and staff.