Uber and Volkswagen (VW) have announced a new collaboration to deploy thousands of autonomous, electric ID Buzz vans throughout the U.S. in a strategic partnership to expand autonomous ride-hailing options nationwide.
The companies will begin testing the vehicles later this year, and the commercial rollout is scheduled to start in Los Angeles in 2026. The initial road tests will include human operators to ensure safety and refine the autonomous driving software before fully driverless deployment. The rollout will proceed in stages and will depend on securing necessary regulatory approvals. Over the next decade, Uber and VW plan to expand the service into other major U.S. markets.
Uber has been eyeing the autonomous vehicle market after shifting away from developing its self-driving technology. Instead, the company pivoted to forging partnerships with manufacturers and fleet managers to accelerate its strategy. Uber has secured more than a dozen global partnerships for self-driving technology across its ride-share, delivery, and freight businesses. Its most high-profile partnership is with Waymo, which already offers driverless rides in Phoenix and plans to expand to Atlanta. Uber is also partnering with Avride to provide rides using Hyundai’s Ioniq 5s in Dallas later this year.
Volkswagen brings a strong technical foundation to the partnership, having tested the ID Buzz vans equipped with Mobileye Global’s autonomous software in Austin. The automaker will use its in-house MOIA brand’s autonomous driving software for Uber’s deployment.
The market is expected to rapidly expand within the next few years, with Tesla set to enter the market with its human-supervised robotaxis this June. Rival Lyft is preparing to launch autonomous rides in Atlanta with Toyota-backed startup May Mobility.
