Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Thanks to CTOnews.com netizens for the delivery of clues about the past. CTOnews.com, July 6 (Xinhua)-- Volkswagen announced that it will begin testing a self-driving version of the ID Buzz electric minibus in the United States. The driverless vehicles will be tested on roads in Austin, Texas, at the end of this month.

This is Volkswagen's latest move after Volkswagen and Ford withdrew their financial support for self-driving startup Argo AI. Argo AI had planned to launch a self-driving taxi service in the US and Europe, but it was shut down because of a lack of funds, casting a shadow over the self-driving car industry, which has been trying to build a business model for self-driving cars for more than a decade.

Volkswagen's self-driving ID Buzz was originally intended to use Argo AI technology, but now the company is working with its partner Mobileye to develop in-house hardware and software. The plan is to test the vehicles in Austin and four other US cities over the next three years, launch an unmanned taxi service in 2026, and launch a three-seat ID Buzz for the US market in 2024.

As part of the plan, Volkswagen is creating a new subsidiary, Volkswagen ADMT, with offices in Austin and Belmont, Calif., which will be made up of former employees left behind after the closure of Argo AI. Volkswagen also said that automatic ID Buzz vehicles equipped with fleet management and "remote guidance solutions" would also be sold to "other leading companies in mobile and transportation".

This is the second time Volkswagen has set up a new subsidiary to meet the challenge of self-driving. The company has been testing its self-driving ID Buzz in Germany and plans to launch commercial unmanned taxi and delivery services in 2025. Volkswagen said it would use the vehicles as a shared fleet of its subsidiary Moia. Volkswagen's self-driving software is developed by another subsidiary, Cariad, which has undergone a number of leadership changes over the past year.

The first 10 ID Buzz will be equipped with autopilot software developed by Mobileye, as well as sensors such as cameras, radar and lidar. Each car will also have a trained safety driver in the driver's seat to monitor its operation and take over control in the event of an unmanageable situation.

Volkswagen has been involved in self-driving for years, but not without setbacks. In 2019, Volkswagen ended its partnership with Aurora Innovation, a self-driving startup founded by Chris Urmson, the former head of self-driving at Google. Argo AI was co-founded by Bryan Salesky, another former member of Google's self-driving team.

CTOnews.com notes that some of Volkswagen's competitors are already well ahead, including General Motors' Cruise and Hyundai's Motional. The two companies have launched initial commercial unmanned taxi services in the United States and plan to expand to new markets.

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