Autonomous Vehicle News
Volkswagen Group plans to offer a highly automated version of the hippie-era microbus it’s reviving as an electric van as the carmaker commercializes self-driving technology along with startup Argo AI. VW is preparing an ID.Buzz with Level 4 autonomy -- meaning the vehicle can drive itself under certain conditions -- to be ready for commercial transport of people and goods for 2025. It’s testing Argo AI’s technology at six U.S. locations and will expand to a site in Munich this year to further refine the system. General Motors' self-driving unit Cruise backed off plans to deploy robotaxis in 2019 and has yet to roll any out. Europe’s largest automaker put its van unit in charge of the collaboration, as it’s betting self-driving technology can be rolled out for commercial use in designated areas faster than with passenger cars on public roads.