MOIA to deploy robotaxis in Europe and U.S. next year

The race to dominate the robotaxi space is heating up. MOIA, the Volkswagen-backed autonomous driving company, will use VW ID. Buzz EVs to roll out robotaxi services in Europe and North America from 2026, challenging Waymo and Tesla, the two other main Western players in the robotaxi ecosystem.

The company says its “turnkey solution” will offer all in one: car, self-driving software, robotaxi platform, and even operator training. That solution can then be implemented “quickly, safely and at scale” by large fleet operators.

Corporate customers
In contrast to Waymo and Tesla, which focus on ridehailing robotaxis, MOIA will primarily target corporate customers and mobility providers.

One of the first examples of MOIA’s system in practice will be the deployment of the ID. Buzz AD (short for Autonomous Drive; pictured) on the Uber platform in Los Angeles, early next year. Hamburg is also seeing early testing. Large-scale implementation of full autonomy will follow across the U.S. from 2026 (possibly only from 2027 in Europe, where regulations are stricter).

VW has purpose-built the ID. Buzz AD, with its extended wheelbase, raised roof and sliding electric doors, for autonomous mobility services, such as driverless ridepooling or ridehailing. The vehicle also features an interior centred on passengers, and intuitive boarding via smartphone.

Level-4 autonomy
As revealed by MOIA at the UITP Summit in Hamburg last month, the ID. Buzz AD comes with 27 sensors including 13 cameras, nine LiDARs and five radars, giving the vehicle a comprehensive, redundant 360-degree view of its surroundings.

This is combined with Mobileye’s self-driving system, which offers Level-4 autonomy. This requires no human intervention in most conditions, and provides remote supervision and protocols for handling edge cases that do require intervention.

The system also includes MOIA’s own Autonomous Driving Mobility as a Service (AD MaaS) Ecosystem Platform, which uses AI to manage fleets in real time.

“Beginning in 2026, we will bring sustainable, autonomous mobility to large-scale deployment in Europe and the U.S.”, said VW Group CEO Oliver Blume. “(This is) another milestone on our path to becoming a global technology driver in the automotive industry.”

Chinese competitors
MOIA’s aim is to scale up to tens of thousands of robotaxis annually. The company is throwing its hat in an already crowded ring. The U.S. robotaxi market is currently valued at $58 billion, but could explode to $330 billion by 2030.

Waymo, which leads the space with 250,000 trips a week, is expanding its presence in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and starting service in New York City (initially with a safety driver). On June 22, Tesla launched a robotaxi pilot project in Austin.

Worldwide, however, Western robotaxi providers are playing catch-up with their Chinese competitors, who have business up and running throughout China, and are currently expanding into the Middle East.