The vehicles — retro-styled ID. Buzz vans fitted with self-driving technology — will serve as the backbone of a robotaxi service set to begin commercial operations with human safety operators before transitioning to full autonomy a year later.

Testing begins this year. Approval from California’s Department of Motor Vehicles is the first phase. Once that’s secured, Volkswagen’s autonomous subsidiary, Volkswagen ADMT, will start test drives on public roads in LA.

Regulatory clearance from the California Public Utilities Commission will also be needed to run the ride-hailing service commercially.

The vehicles won’t be fully autonomous at launch. For at least a year, there will be trained operators behind the wheel. “Each step will proceed only after any necessary regulatory approvals have been received,” a company spokesperson confirmed.

Volkswagen is being cautious, calculated, and regulatory-compliant and this isn’t its first attempt at self-driving. After its investment in Argo collapsed alongside Ford’s, Volkswagen pivoted.

It turned to Mobileye, the autonomous tech company now powering the ID. Buzz’s self-driving system. The two companies are now tightly aligned. Volkswagen ADMT kicked off its first autonomous testing programme in Austin last year with a fleet of 10 vehicles.

Uber, meanwhile, has been busy sewing partnerships across the industry. From Waymo in Austin to other AV firms in delivery and freight, the ride-hailing giant is hedging its future on autonomy — but not on exclusivity. This collaboration with VW adds yet another company to its ecosystem of autonomous suppliers.

Volkswagen’s plan goes beyond building the cars, it’s also betting on providing the tech and software infrastructure for robotaxi fleets at scale.

Christian Senger, CEO of Volkswagen Autonomous Mobility, said: “Volkswagen is not just a car manufacturer — we are shaping the future of mobility, and our collaboration with Uber accelerates that vision. What really sets us apart is our ability to combine the best of both worlds—high-volume manufacturing expertise with cutting-edge technology and a deep understanding of urban mobility needs.”

The ID. Buzz AD, the star of this new project, is not a new experiment. Volkswagen’s development of the self-driving variant stretches back to 2021. The vehicle features 13 cameras, nine LIDARs, five radars, and redundant systems across critical functions like braking, steering, and power.

Testing originally began in Germany and only recently expanded to the U.S. The aim is to introduce thousands of these vehicles across major American cities within the next ten years.

Volkswagen is being careful. It has made no promises about which cities are next, but it’s clear that LA is only the beginning.

For now, the ID. Buzz remains a rare sight. Only 1,162 units were sold in the U.S. in 2024, and 1,901 more followed in early 2025.

• The PAC-MAN Championship Edition can now be experienced exclusively in over 300,000 Volkswagen vehicles in Europe
• Immersive in-car gaming: Volkswagen is the first brand to bring to market dynamic background lighting during the gaming experience
• Classic PAC-MAN elements such as fruits become wheel rims, silhouettes of iconic Volkswagens from the Beetle to the Golf IV R32 and brands such as GTI or R

Volkswagen is expanding its gaming offering in selected models.

The PAC-MAN Championship Edition is now available in the optional AirConsole In-Car App for playing on the infotainment display in a parked vehicle. A smartphone serves as the controller.

Volkswagen is the first automotive manufacturer to dynamically combine the new game with the vehicle’s background lighting and, for compatible ID. models, also with ID. Light as an option.

This means that an even more immersive gaming experience is created specifically by the interior lighting responding to the game content and inputs by the players.

The PAC-MAN Championship Edition retains the well-known and popular game principle from the 1980s: PAC-MAN eats dots in a labyrinth while trying to avoid being caught by ghosts. Once all the dots have been eaten, the next level begins. The icons for bonus points and power pellets have been redesigned.

More points are awarded for touching silhouettes of the iconic Volkswagen Beetle, VW Bus and Golf IV R32, brands such as GTI, GTX or R and Volkswagen wheel rims. Anyone who wants to fight the Ghost Gang should look for power pellets in the form of the Volkswagen brand logo.

AirConsole is the world’s first gaming platform specifically designed for cars. The in-car app can transform compatible Volkswagen vehicles into a gaming station including the infotainment, sound and background lighting system.

The portfolio of games is tailored to casual players of any age. With the implementation of the further gaming offering, Volkswagen is also responding to customer feedback from drivers.

With partners N-Dream and Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc., in-car gaming becomes a new social experience, and playing a classic game such as PAC-MAN connects generations. Volkswagen is additionally further enhancing the overall digital experience.

The AirConsole in-car app is available in many European countries in the ID. models ID.7, ID.5, ID.4 and ID.3 (from ID. Software 4.0 in each case) as well as for the Tayron, Tiguan, Passat, Golf Variant and Golf models from model year 2025.

Playing while parked requires a Volkswagen ID user account, an active VW Connect Plus contract and an active internet connection on the smartphone.

The AirConsole in-car app must be downloaded from the In-Car Shop before it can be used for the first time.

Google is working to penetrate the enterprise AI application market, and this partnership will aid this goal, providing users with tools that simplify everyday tasks.

The innovative in-app assistant allows Volkswagen owners to ask practical questions, such as how to change a flat tyre, and leverages smartphone cameras to deliver relevant information from the vehicle’s dashboard. 

This functionality is powered by Google’s Gemini large language models, which are adept at understanding and generating human-like responses, along with the firm’s cloud computing infrastructure.

To develop this tool, Google has integrated a comprehensive range of data, including Volkswagen owner manuals and instructional YouTube videos focused on vehicle maintenance, into the Gemini framework. 

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian highlighted the technical challenges involved in creating this product, particularly concerning multimodality—the ability to process various data types such as text, images, and videos. He noted, “The problem looks superficially simple, but it’s technically very complex.”

Currently, the AI assistant is free for about 120,000 owners of Volkswagen’s Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport models, with plans for a broader rollout to other models from the year 2020 and later by early next year.

This collaboration has the potential to change the competitive industry of the cloud computing market, where Google currently ranks third, trailing Amazon and Microsoft. 

With many businesses continually exploring practical applications for generative AI, integrating such technology into everyday tools like vehicle assistance presents a favourable opportunity.

In 2023, Google’s cloud computing segment contributed $33 billion to the company’s total revenue of $307 billion. While the firm has indicated that AI solutions have greatly boosted its revenue this year, specific figures remain undisclosed. 

Meanwhile, Volkswagen has not provided details regarding the usage metrics of its newly launched AI assistant.

This collaboration will initially bring gaming to several Volkswagen models, including the ID.7, ID.5, ID.4, and ID.3 series, as well as the new Passat, Tiguan, Golf, and Golf Estate. 

Through the vehicle’s infotainment system, which acts as a gaming console, passengers can enjoy a variety of games with their smartphones doubling as controllers. This setup transforms the car into a mobile gaming hub, offering an innovative way for passengers to pass the time.

Launching initially in select European markets in mid-September, the AirConsole platform will allow passengers to engage in multiplayer gaming using their smartphones. 

The connection between the phone and the car is seamlessly established by scanning a QR code displayed on the vehicle’s infotainment screen. Once connected, players can dive into a gaming experience that involves the entire vehicle, as even rear-seat passengers can join in during stops.

Volkswagen is working to enhance its in-car experience, making travel more enjoyable by offering entertainment that can be shared among all passengers. 

The feature is expected to be a hit, especially for those long drives where keeping passengers entertained is often a challenge. By the end of 2024, Volkswagen plans to expand the range of available games and extend the service to additional European countries.

The AirConsole gaming experience is designed for casual gamers of all ages, ensuring that everyone in the vehicle can participate. The platform supports both solo and multiplayer modes, allowing for flexibility depending on the number of passengers. Importantly, the feature can only be used when the vehicle is stationary, ensuring safety remains a priority.

Through this partnership with AirConsole, Volkswagen is innovating and enhancing the driving experience, keeping up with the automotive industry’s continued evolution, while incorporating digital and interactive elements into vehicles is becoming more important.