May Mobility plans to deploy 10,000+ autonomous VW ID. Buzz robotaxis through 2031, with US testing in early 2027. Here's how it compares with VW's own Mobileye-based ID. Buzz AD and the Uber LA plan.
Photo: Volkswagen Group / MOIA
The Volkswagen ID. Buzz is picking up a second robotaxi career. On November 12, Ann Arbor, Michigan-based May Mobility said it plans to put its own self-driving system into the electric van and deploy more than 10,000 autonomous ID. Buzz vehicles through 2031, with on-road testing in the US starting in early 2027 and the first production vans delivered in 2028.
That is separate from Volkswagen's in-house effort. VW's MOIA unit is already testing its own ID. Buzz AD, built with Mobileye's self-driving system, on Los Angeles streets with Uber. So the same boxy EV is now headed for robotaxi duty under two different "brains," run by two different companies.
According to May Mobility's press release, the ID. Buzz will be adapted to the requirements of May's autonomous driving kit. Two partners are involved:
The vans will be run by fleet operator partners rather than sold to the public. May uses a partner-first model: today it runs rides through Lyft and plans service with Uber. InsideEVs notes that ride-hailing companies like these could be first in line for the new vans.
May picked the ID. Buzz for its multiple doors and roomy interior. The company says it is targeting cost savings of 50% or more compared with its current-generation vehicle, a Toyota Sienna minivan. That is a target, not a result.
Plenty. The release names no cities for the ID. Buzz fleet, no fleet operator customers and no price. It does not say whether riders will be carried with or without a safety driver at launch. May says vehicle specifications, testing and deployment details will come later.
Volkswagen is not quoted in the release, and the announcement does not describe a formal supply agreement beyond saying the ID. Buzz was selected. Autonext and EVXL both report that VW has not confirmed the 10,000-vehicle figure.
Reality check
May Mobility is a small company making a big promise. It reported about $10 million in revenue last year and roughly $93 million in cash burn, according to TechCrunch. It is going public through a pending SPAC merger with ACP Holdings at a $1.4 billion valuation, and part of that money is meant to pay for removing safety drivers. Today it runs Toyota Siennas in a handful of US locations, and only three of its deployments have operated without a driver aboard.
May says it has completed more than 600,000 commercial autonomous rides covering 1.1 million miles in the US and Japan, including three "driver-out" deployments. Its current operations, per the release:
Volkswagen's in-house robotaxi is the ID. Buzz AD, shown in production form in June 2025. It uses Mobileye's self-driving system with 27 sensors: 13 cameras, nine lidars and five radars, according to Electrek. VW says it is built to meet SAE Level 4 requirements, including remote supervision. MOIA sells it as a turnkey package, with the van, the self-driving system and its own fleet software.
Here is where the VW-Uber plan stands in the US:
| Milestone | Status |
|---|---|
| VW and Uber partnership | Announced April 2025: thousands of ID. Buzz AD vans across multiple US markets over the next decade, starting in Los Angeles |
| Los Angeles testing | Began April 2026 with human operators on board |
| Test fleet | MOIA plans to grow to more than 100 vans during testing |
| Rides on Uber in LA | Planned for late 2026 |
| Lake Nona, Florida | Invited riders since September 2026 with Beep, operators on board |
| Other US testing | Los Angeles, Austin and Orlando |
Sources: Volkswagen Group, MOIA, Uber
VW and Uber have said human operators will ride along during the initial testing and launch phases, subject to regulatory approval. Neither has given a date for fully driverless rides in LA. In Germany, MOIA began a passenger pilot in Hamburg in July, also with safety operators.
Both ID. Buzz programs are years behind the leaders in the US.
Neither ID. Buzz robotaxi carries public riders without a human on board yet. May's version will not even begin US road testing until early 2027.
If you ride with Uber or Lyft, the ID. Buzz is the robotaxi you are most likely to see. MOIA's vans are tied to Uber in Los Angeles, and May works with both Lyft and Uber.
If you want to buy a regular ID. Buzz, the news does not help. Volkswagen skipped the 2026 model year in the US and has pushed the retail van's return to the 2028 model year, according to Electrive. For now, the van's US future looks more like fleet duty than driveways.
The bottom line: May Mobility's 10,000-van plan gives the VW ID. Buzz a second robotaxi path alongside VW's own Mobileye-based ID. Buzz AD. But no cities, customers or driverless dates are set, Volkswagen has not confirmed the number, and US testing starts only in early 2027. The nearer-term milestone to watch is MOIA's promised late-2026 launch of ID. Buzz rides on Uber in Los Angeles.
Related: Waymo and Uber end Austin and Atlanta partnership · Zoox starts charging for robotaxi rides · Nevada approves up to 8,000 robotaxis
GM is recalling 67,380 Cadillac Lyriq, Vistiq, Celestiq and Chevy Blazer EV SS and PPV models because brake software can briefly cut braking at low speed. The fix is a free OTA or dealer update.
Honda's 2028 CR-V will be hybrid-only, joining the hybrid RAV4 and electric Model Y. 2026 sales, prices, MPG and range for America's top 3 SUVs, and what $4 gas means for buyers.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe says AI data centers are making memory chips and other car parts harder to get. Here's why AI competes with EVs for DRAM and what it means for the $44,990 R2 and US EV prices.