IAA Mobility 2023: VM Test Drive VW ID. Buzz AD - Colleague Computer Drives Well

Formally, the model is called ID. Buzz AD Prep 1, an experimental vehicle with which we embark on the first autonomous tour. The goal of the VW Commercial Vehicles project is SAE Level 4 autonomous driving without a driver, in the ODD, meaning in a limited road network – initially for passenger transport, or MaaS (Mobility as a Service), but in the second step also for freight transport or TaaS (Transport as a Service). Deliberately, they are not targeting Level 5 here. Those would no longer be vehicles in the traditional sense, but pure people movers, explains VWN-AD chief Christian Senger, who is responsible for the AD program at the last remaining German manufacturer in this field, highlighting the subtle difference. For the start and public acceptance, it is also important that it comes across as a "normal vehicle." And with the "iconic" sympathetic figure from the VW Commercial Vehicles range, the "E-Bulli," they have made just the right choice, Senger believes.

The Last of the Mohicans: VW Believes in Autonomous Driving – in Public Transport

The "autonomous driving services" are set to launch as early as 2025/26, in cooperation with Mobileye and the on-demand subsidiary Moia. They plan to deploy the vehicles in Hamburg – and tackle an urgent problem: the rampant driver shortage. For a fleet of 5,000 vehicles, a driver pool of 12,000 to 15,000 chauffeurs would be needed. With small vehicles, personnel costs hit especially hard, as Moia CEO Sascha Meyer knows. Therefore, they plan to automate as much as possible in operations as well, such as vehicle checks via teleoperator.

The small "vessels," as Meyer calls them, are a key element of the traffic transformation, not just in suburban but also in urban areas, as a supplement and gap filler in public transport – and by no means as a taxi competitor. Meyer talks about greater "value proposition" in public transport – simply meaning more attractive public transit that literally "comes to meet" the customer and offers more comfort. The overarching goal: to make private cars unnecessary, reducing traffic and easing the climate impact.

First "Moia Effects" Appear in Hamburg: Fewer Car Trips

Ultimately, this is about ride-pooling, the efficient bundling of travel requests – not the classic A to B business. Significant progress has already been made in Hamburg: the ride service in the Hanseatic city already achieves a "honestly measured" occupancy of 1.8 to 1.9 passengers, a remarkable figure compared to the poor occupancy of private cars – or even taxis. At the same time, the "natural" demand necessary for economic operation is present in the city, as Meyer explains. On weekends, they are already hopelessly overbooked. They record 1.2 million rides per week. Meyer views pure suburban operations as a subsidized business due to a lack of mass, just as public transport is. Hence, not any less meaningful as a supplement. But volume effects are less achievable here, Meyer believes.

First displacement effects are evident in Hamburg: The number of private car trips is declining, nearly eight percent less, or 15 million car kilometers. Public transport trips, which include Moia, are increasing. Additionally, Meyer points to the "tour effect": People are combining a Moia shuttle in their travel chains, such as going to work and then to the gym, where they would have otherwise used their own car. Prof. Thomas Form, responsible for AD driving function at VW Commercial Vehicles, estimates the additional costs in a low five-figure amount, around 35,000 euros.

Natural demand: The business only runs in the city

Of course, technically this is a much bigger challenge than suburban or highway operations. But Meyer states: "It's no use, we have to go into the cities for it to pay off." About 10,000 units of the ID. Buzz AD are initially planned, then the long version, which was recently presented in the USA and will soon come to Europe. Scaling will begin from the next decade, worldwide, Form announces. However, based on a secure and solidly established process that is also supposed to be profitable. Hamburg is to serve as a "blueprint" for Europe and the world, Sascha Meyer adds. One does not have to be the first, formulates VWN-AD boss Christian Senger with respect to the American and Chinese competition, but the best. He expects that in a few years, we will meet in a rapidly growing market - and remains calm as Horizon has recently become a potent technology partner for autonomous driving in China.

And then Senger expects a rapid rise in technology and "on-demand" shuttles. He says: It's like with popcorn. And that could work, as a first tour or rather "ride" showed. It starts from the test area at Munich Airport, which was taken over from Argo AI and where countless traffic situations with freight containers are simulated. Argo AI is a story on its own. Christian Senger's short version: Too complex, too expensive, too error-prone, too ambitious, with all the high-end individual sensor systems. The Mobileye sensor package, almost "off the shelf," consists of cameras, lidar, three long-range and six short-range radars and is also not quite cheap (see above), but it is tested and scalable. So things could get going pretty quickly.