VW's ID Buzz concept to become autonomous vehicle

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will be the first VW Group brand to offer a vehicle with autonomous driving capability.

The ID Buzz concept, first previewed as a replacement for the VW Camper, will be introduced as a fully electric commercial vehicle and will be available with autonomous driving capability.

VW expects the system will be ready for ‘traffic use’ by 2025.

Forty per cent of UK new car sales could have self-driving capabilities by 2035, with a total market value of £41.7 billion, according to a new report by Connected Places Catapult, Element Energy and Cambridge Econometrics.

Zenzic, the UK autonomous vehicle accelerator, recently put together new safety guidance to create a framework for testing driverless vehicles on public roads.

The autonomous capability is being developed by specialist Argo AI, a company that both Ford and VW are equally invested as part of their ongoing cooperation..

Christian Senger, head of Autonomous Driving at VW, said: "This year, for the first time, we are conducting field trials in Germany, in which the self- driving system by Argo AI will be used in a version of the future ID Buzz by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.”

The aim of the projects is to develop a ride-hailing and pooling concept.

VW Commercial Vehicles is responsible for the development of fully autonomous systems and their commercial use in urban areas. It will develop and build Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV), such as robo-taxis and vans.