Volkswagen says self-driving cars to be mainstream by 2030
Fully autonomous cars from Volkswagen should reach critical mass by decade’s end: SchäferVolkswagen chief executive Thomas Schäfer believes fully autonomous vehicles from the Volkswagen brand will be mainstream on a global scale by the end of this decade.
Speaking to British outlet Autocar, Schäfer said the driverless breakthrough will begin with commercial vehicles, not private passenger cars, because that sector will quickly open up “profit pools and opportunities” for the auto giant.
This suggests that VW could branch out into ride-hailing services, or at least team up with a provider like Uber, with vehicles such as the new Volkswagen ID. Buzz.
“The technology is available and we are driving in Hamburg and Munich autonomously,” he said.
“The cost of the car is still prohibitive because so little of it gets manufactured. And there’s always the need to prove that the system drives better than a human.
“The legislation for it is enormous. It’s totally different from country to country.”
Schäfer’s announcement that driverless vehicles are still on track to be introduced before the end of decade come off the back of the failure of Argo AI – the pioneering autonomous tech firm in which Volkswagen sunk $US2.6 billion ($A3.9b) in 2019.
Ford was another chief stakeholder in the failed venture.
This misfire has delayed Volkswagen’s autonomous vehicle plans, which have also fallen behind due to the rush to adopt electrification, the ongoing semi-conductor crisis and other issues related to the pandemic
Aside from those, Schäfer says other hurdles include “legislation, the camera systems, the chips, the energy consumption, and the speed of calculation”.
Following the collapse of Argo AI, Schäfer confirmed that some employees would be rehired by either Ford or Volkswagen.
Volkswagen will also continue to work with Cariad, Bosch and Horizon Robotics to help fast-track its driverless tech.
Related: Self-driving Volkswagen ID. Buzz to launch in 2025
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