Los Angeles has just found its latest protagonist: a neon-clad, electrified ghost of the 1960s. Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz, the van that desperately wants to sell you nostalgia while charging you for kilowatts, is now officially moonlighting as a robotaxi. Under the sun-drenched smog of the “City of Angels”, a fleet of these autonomous boxes is currently performing a digital waltz, preparing for a future where your Uber driver doesn’t complain about the tip.
This is a marriage of convenience between the Volkswagen Group and Uber. The goal is to have hundreds of these autonomous EVs buzzing through LA by the end of 2026. Leading the charge is MOIA America, formerly known by the rather bureaucratic moniker VW ADMT, which is establishing itself as the unified brand for VW’s American self-driving ambitions.
Each ID. Buzz is armored with a 27-sensor suite: 13 cameras, 9 Lidar units, and 5 radars. All this data is fed into a Mobileye-sourced brain that supposedly knows how to handle everything from a stray cat to a frantic ambulance. MOIA claims this rolling supercomputer meets SAE Level 4 requirements, meaning it can handle the chaos of urban driving with minimal remote supervision.
Inside, the transformation is even more cynical. The front passenger seat, the traditional spot for the navigator or the person who controls the radio, has been ripped out to make room for a luggage rack. It’s a clear signal: you aren’t here to drive or even look at the road; you’re just cargo with a credit card.
While a safety operator currently sits behind the wheel for “real-world validation”, Volkswagen insists that by the end of this year, that seat will be as empty as a politician’s promise. It’s a fascinating paradox: taking a vehicle originally designed for human connection and handing the keys to an algorithm.
