Volkswagen begins testing its self-driving microbuses in Los Angeles ahead of launch with Uber

Volkswagen subsidiary MOIA America and Uber have started testing autonomous microbuses in Los Angeles, the companies announced Wednesday, the latest step as they prepare to launch a robotaxi service by late 2026.

A year ago, MOIA America and Uber unveiled an ambitious plan to launch a commercial robotaxi service — using autonomous versions of Volkswagen’s electric ID. Buzz minivan — in multiple U.S. cities over the next decade. Los Angeles is the first city on that list.

Testing will start in the next few weeks with about 10 autonomous ID. Buzz vehicles in Los Angeles, according to the company. The production version of the driverless vehicles seat four people.

Paul DeLong, president of commercialization at MOIA America, called Los Angeles a natural market to introduce the company’s autonomous vehicles for ride experiences, “given its long history of shaping car culture and embracing new mobility technologies.”

Since last year’s announcement, MOIA America and Uber set up a joint facility in Los Angeles for day-to-day fleet operations. The test fleet is small for now, but Volkswagen says it will eventually scale to more than 100 autonomous ID Buzz vehicles. The vehicles will initially launch with a human safety operator on board. Driverless operations are expected to begin in 2027, the company said.

Sascha Meyer, the chief commercial officer for Volkswagen Autonomous Mobility, said this next step reflects the “strong momentum behind the strategy to bring autonomous mobility into real-world operation.”

The MOIA America name is relatively new branding for Volkswagen’s autonomous vehicle projects in the U.S., known as Volkswagen ADMT until early 2026. But the MOIA brand has been around for a while, since it was first launched by Volkswagen in 2018 at TechCrunch Disrupt London, and is best known in Europe, where it operates a ride-pooling service and tests atuonomous vehicle tech in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, and Oslo. The name change is supposed to reflect the connection between the U.S. and Europe entities.

MOIA America still must navigate a long regulatory process before it can deploy a commercial robotaxi service — meaning driverless vehicles that charge humans for rides — in California. The company will need permits from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which regulates autonomous vehicle testing and deployment in the state. It will also need a ride-hailing permit from the California Public Utilities Commission.

Uber, meanwhile, has spread out its bets on autonomous vehicles. The company has partnerships with 25 companies that are applying autonomous vehicle technology to delivery, drones, ride-hailing, and trucking. In the U.S., its most visible partnership is with Waymo. But the company has taken its AV ambitions to other markets, locking in agreements with Chinese companies to launch robotaxis in Europe and the Middle East, as well as startups like U.K.-based Wayve. 

Uber recently made a deal with Rivian to buy 10,000 fully autonomous R2 robotaxis ahead of a planned rollout in San Francisco and Miami in 2028. Under the agreement, Uber is making an initial $300 million investment in Rivian.