MOIA, Volkswagen's European rideshare arm, collaborated with Apex.AI to develop and implement a passenger management system for the fleet of vans. As Volkswagen approaches “production readiness” and commercial operations of its new autonomous EV fleet under its MOIA brand, it will begin transporting passengers in Munich – including government authorities, business partners, and journalists.
VW states that initial autonomous driving tests remain focused on EVs operating in urban centers – hence why Munich and Austin were chosen. The test will enable the ID.Buzz vans to navigate with Level 4 autonomous by SAE standards, for operations in ridesharing and transport services.
Volkswagen says MOIA will be the first to use its autonomous vehicles and will share ride data to assist in the development of the technology and its pending commercialized network. In the US however, Volkswagen says it intends outsource operations outside of its own umbrella in the future and will seek “external companies from the mobility and transport sector.” Christian Senger, member of the Board of Management responsible for development of autonomous driving at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, spoke to the division’s progress:
Expanding our autonomous vehicle program to North America is the next step in our global strategic roadmap and the result of a long-term investment. This will help us to test, validate and refine the technology on American roads as well.
Volkswagen will continue autonomous rides in Munich over the next few weeks as operations simultaneously expand in the US.
Source: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles