Volkswagen’s MOIA and Uber have started trials of self-driving ID. Buzz minibuses in Los Angeles.

      In summary: MOIA America, Volkswagen's autonomous mobility subsidiary, and Uber have initiated on-road testing in Los Angeles using approximately 10 autonomous ID. Buzz vehicles. This marks the first phase of a rollout anticipated to provide commercial rides with human safety operators by the end of 2026, transitioning to fully driverless service in 2027. Los Angeles is the inaugural US city in what both companies refer to as a multi-city rollout planned for the next decade.

      A year after announcing their partnership, the first ID. Buzz AD vehicles have taken to the streets of Los Angeles. MOIA America, Volkswagen’s autonomous driving branch operating in the US, intends to deploy over 100 vehicles in the city for real-world validation prior to launching commercial services. Throughout the testing phase, each vehicle will have a human safety operator onboard, a necessary requirement as the company navigates California's complex regulatory framework before being allowed to charge riders.

      About the vehicle

      The ID. Buzz AD differs significantly from the consumer version of the ID. Buzz available in dealerships. This autonomous variant is equipped with a suite of 27 sensors, including 13 cameras, nine LiDAR units, and five radars, with all data processed by a Mobileye-sourced computer using the Mobileye Drive platform. This collaboration, which replaced a prior agreement with Argo AI after Volkswagen wrote off its investment in 2022, assigns Mobileye the responsibility for the software, hardware components, and digital mapping essential for the vehicle's decision-making processes.

      The production model accommodates up to six passengers and features powered sliding doors, making it better suited for group ride-hailing, which MOIA has been developing since its inception. It was first unveiled in its series production format in 2025 and is manufactured by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles at its plant in Hanover.

      Path to commercial service

      Before MOIA America can charge passengers in California, it needs to clear two regulatory hurdles: obtaining a commercial deployment permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles and a ride-hailing permit from the California Public Utilities Commission. Neither of these permits is guaranteed. The current phase of testing, which includes safety operators in all vehicles, serves both as a technical validation exercise and as a demonstration of safe operation that regulators will closely examine before granting wider permissions.

      The company's planned timeline is ambitious. It starts with testing about 10 vehicles, followed by an increase to over 100 vehicles with safety operators by the time commercial services commence at the end of 2026. A fully driverless service—without any humans in the vehicle—is aimed for 2027. MOIA America has expressed an intention to scale to over 500 autonomous vehicles in Los Angeles by the third quarter of 2027, and to subsequently deploy more than 1,000 vehicles in other US cities.

      Paul DeLong, president of commercialization at MOIA America, explained the geographical choice as intentional: “Los Angeles is a natural market for introducing MOIA’s autonomous vehicles for ride experiences due to its long-standing influence on car culture and its adoption of new mobility technologies.” He also emphasized that the collaboration with Uber was central to their strategy from the beginning: “Alongside Uber, we’re integrating MOIA’s autonomous vehicles and expertise into a platform already trusted by millions of riders.”

      Sascha Meyer, chief commercial officer for Volkswagen Autonomous Mobility, remarked that the announcement about LA signifies “strong momentum behind the strategy to operationalize autonomous mobility in the real world.” Uber's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, called it “a significant milestone in the advancement of autonomous mobility” and highlighted it as an indication of “both Volkswagen’s and Uber’s commitment to shaping the future of transportation.”

      Why LA, why now

      Los Angeles is not a blank canvas for autonomous vehicle services. Waymo has been operating fully driverless rides in the city since 2024 and has expanded its permitted area to cover most of Southern California, conducting over 250,000 paid trips per week across all its US markets. Entering a city already served by an established operator sets a clear performance benchmark for MOIA and Uber prior to their commercial launch, also allowing riders to make direct comparisons from day one.

      MOIA brings operational experience that other newcomers to US cities may lack. The company has operated a ride-pooling service in Hamburg since 2019, transporting over ten million passengers, which has generated a wealth of real-world operational data guiding both vehicle design and service model. The autonomous initiative in Hamburg has been ongoing concurrently as part of the federally backed ALIKE project, indicating that the ID. Buzz AD platform is not being introduced to the public for the first time in Los Angeles.

      Uber as the platform, not the technology

      The partnership with MOIA is a reflection of a broader strategy Uber has been pursuing since it stepped back from developing its own self-driving technology after selling its Advanced Technologies Group to Aurora in 2020. Uber has positioned itself as the distribution layer for autonomous vehicles rather than a creator of the underlying technology