All-electric Volkswagen Kombi will be brand’s first autonomous vehicle
The upcoming all-electric Volkswagen Kombi rebirth – also known as the ID. Buzz – will reportedly feature fully-autonomous driving functions, in a first for the German manufacturing giant.
An official statement, released over the weekend by Volkswagen’s commercial arm, claimed the bus – which could go into production as early as next year – would be used for driverless “robo-taxi” services in Europe.
The vehicle's self-driving technology has been developed in collaboration with multiple tech companies and start-ups, at a cost exceeding US$1 billion (AU$1.28 billion).
“We are setting the course for the future of mobility – autonomous, electric driving will make an important contribution to urban mobility and road safety,” said Carsten Intra, CEO of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. “Our vehicles are the logical first choice to apply such systems to.”
While the electric bus will be officially launched in 2022, its self-driving functions are not expected to be rolled out until 2025.
A spokesperson for Volkswagen in Australia told Drive "we are highly interested in the ID. Buzz for local distribution," however noted significant legislative amendments would be required before Level 5 autonomous technologies could be considered Down Under.