Volkswagen is now testing a fully autonomous robotaxi that removes the steering wheel and pedals altogether, turning the cabin into something closer to a rolling lounge than a traditional car. The move signals how quickly the industry is shifting from driver-assistance to vehicles that assume the entire driving task, with humans treated as passengers from the moment they step inside. It also shows how a legacy automaker is trying to leap ahead in the robotaxi race rather than ceding the future of urban mobility to tech companies.
A research robotaxi built from the inside out
Volkswagen is not simply stripping controls out of an existing model, it is building a dedicated research vehicle that treats autonomy as the starting point rather than an add-on. The company has developed a Gen. Urban concept that is explicitly described as a research vehicle, a platform designed to test how a fully self-driving car behaves in real city conditions and how people respond when there is no steering wheel or pedals to fall back on. That Gen. Urban research vehicle is now being sent into real urban traffic for the first time, a milestone that underlines how far the project has moved beyond closed tracks and simulations toward real-world autonomous testing.
What makes this effort distinctive is that the Gen. Urban project is framed around the human experience rather than raw technical performance. Instead of treating passengers as an afterthought, the program is organized around questions like how people enter and exit the cabin, how they feel when the car accelerates or brakes on its own, and how they interact with displays and voice controls when there is no steering wheel in front of them. That focus is explicit in descriptions of what sets the Gen. Urban project apart, which emphasize a user-centric approach to autonomous mobility instead of chasing only benchmark lap times or sensor range.
From concept reveal to public road trials
The shift from design studio to public streets has happened quickly. Earlier in December, Volkswagen revealed its Gen. Urban fully autonomous vehicle as a city-focused prototype that lacks a steering wheel and foot pedals, presenting it as a purpose-built robotaxi rather than a conventional car with advanced driver assistance. Reporting on that reveal notes that the City-oriented prototype is guided by a front-mounted camera and other sensors, and that the project was introduced by Michael Gauthier as a clean-sheet design that removes traditional controls from the outset, a detail captured in coverage of how Volkswagen revealed its Gen. Urban fully autonomous vehicle.
Within days of that unveiling, Volkswagen Group moved the concept into public road testing, launching a trial for an autonomous vehicle that explicitly lacks a steering wheel and foot pedals and therefore lacks conventional controls altogether. The company has kicked off this public road test to see how the vehicle behaves in mixed traffic and how passengers react when they cannot intervene with a wheel or pedals, a step described in detail in reports on how Volkswagen launches public road test for an autonomous vehicle lacking wheel and pedals.
Inside the Wolfsburg pilot: a steering-free future on home turf
Volkswagen is using its home city as a proving ground for this radical cabin layout. In Wolfsburg, the company has begun a pilot program that puts a steering-free robotaxi into everyday traffic, inviting participants to ride in a vehicle that has no steering wheel or pedals and relies entirely on its automated systems. The pilot is framed as another visible step toward the future of driverless transport, with the company positioning the Wolfsburg Pilot Program as a way to test how such a vehicle fits into the rhythms of a working city, a point underscored in descriptions of how Volkswagen Tests Steering-Free Robotaxi in Wolfsburg Pilot Program.
The Wolfsburg tests are not happening in isolation. Separate reporting describes how, on December 15, 2025, Volkswagen ran a prototype in Urban in Wolfsburg, Germany, designed without a steering wheel or pedals, and how during testing a participant sat in the cabin while the vehicle handled all driving tasks. That account of a prototype operating in Urban in Wolfsburg, Germany, with no steering wheel or pedals and a participant experiencing the ride, reinforces how the company is using its home base as a laboratory for a new kind of passenger experience, as detailed in coverage that notes how the steering wheel is dying in a prototype tested in Urban in Wolfsburg, Germany.
How the cabin works when there is nothing to grab
Removing the steering wheel and pedals forces a complete rethink of the interior. Instead of a driver seat facing a dashboard, the Gen. Urban layout is closer to a small lounge, with seating and interfaces arranged so that every occupant is a passenger and no one is expected to take control. Reports on the Wolfsburg Pilot Program describe a purpose-built vehicle with wide doors, low floors, and generous headroom that make entering and exiting the cabin easier for a broad range of riders, including those with limited mobility, a design choice highlighted in descriptions of a purpose-built vehicle for entering and exiting the cabin.
Inside, the absence of conventional controls frees up space for screens, ambient lighting, and storage, but it also raises questions about how passengers communicate with the vehicle. The Gen. Urban research program is explicitly structured to study those interactions, from how riders request a stop to how they respond to the car’s explanations of its decisions. That human-centric framing is central to the description of the Gen. Urban project, which emphasizes that the research vehicle is designed to explore the passenger experience rather than simply proving that the sensors and software can keep the car in its lane, a focus captured in the explanation of what sets the Gen. Urban project apart.
Safety, trust, and the psychology of letting go
Convincing people to ride in a car with no steering wheel or pedals is as much a psychological challenge as a technical one. Volkswagen’s public road tests are structured to build trust gradually, with trained staff on hand and carefully chosen routes that showcase the system’s capabilities without overwhelming first-time riders. Reports on the public road test for the autonomous vehicle lacking wheel and pedals note that the vehicle is designed to make a good impression prior to movement, suggesting that the company is paying close attention to how the car behaves when it first arrives, how doors open, and how the interior lighting and displays welcome passengers before the journey begins, details that appear in accounts of how Volkswagen launches a public road test for an autonomous vehicle lacking wheel and pedals.
At the same time, the company is using the Gen. Urban research vehicle to gather data on how people feel during the ride, not just whether the car avoids collisions. The human-centric approach described in the Gen. Urban project means that Volkswagen is tracking reactions to acceleration, braking, and cornering, as well as how passengers respond when the vehicle communicates its intentions. That emphasis on the passenger experience is central to the description of the Urban research vehicle and its deployment into real urban traffic, which is framed as a way to refine both the technical stack and the way the car presents itself to riders, as outlined in the account of the Urban research vehicle in real urban traffic.
Linking the robotaxi to the ID. Buzz autonomous strategy
The steering-free robotaxi is not an isolated experiment, it sits alongside Volkswagen’s broader push to commercialize autonomous versions of the ID. Buzz. The company has already begun testing a self-driving ID. Buzz in the United States, with trials in Austin that are intended to pave the way for a commercial launch of the self-driving ID. Buzz in 2026. Reporting on those efforts notes that the commercial launch of the self-driving ID. Buzz is set for 2026 and that Volkswagen has been clear that these vehicles are not being developed as a generic robo taxi fleet in Europe, but as part of a more targeted strategy, details captured in coverage that explains how the commercial launch of the self-driving ID. Buzz is set for 2026.
Volkswagen is also positioning the ID. Buzz as a key product in its global autonomous strategy, with a variant known as The ID Buzz AD described as putting the automaker at the forefront of a global growth market worth billions. Group CEO Oliver Blu is cited in that context, emphasizing that the ID Buzz AD is central to the company’s ambition to capture a significant share of a market that could eventually cover a large portion of the world’s traffic population, a point made in analysis of how The ID Buzz AD puts the automaker at the forefront of a global growth market.
Uber, ride-hailing, and the business case for autonomy
Volkswagen’s robotaxi experiments are tightly linked to a broader commercial plan built around ride-hailing. The company has entered a long-term strategic partnership with Uber to deploy autonomous ID. Buzz vehicles on the Uber Platform, a deal that is framed as a long-term strategic partnership to deploy autonomous ID. Buzz vehicles over the coming decade, starting in Los Angeles. That arrangement, described in detail in the announcement that Volkswagen and Uber Launch Long Term Strategic Partnership to Deploy Autonomous ID Buzz Vehicles on the Uber Platform, shows how the automaker expects to monetize its autonomous technology through high-utilization fleets rather than individual retail sales alone.
For Uber, the appeal is access to purpose-built autonomous vehicles that can operate for long hours without the constraints of human driver shifts, while for Volkswagen the partnership offers a ready-made customer base and real-world data from one of the world’s largest ride-hailing networks. The steering-free robotaxi being tested in Wolfsburg and the Gen. Urban research vehicle provide a glimpse of what a future Uber ride in an autonomous ID. Buzz or a similar platform might feel like, with passengers stepping into a cabin that has no steering wheel or pedals and trusting the system to handle the entire journey. That vision ties the experimental robotaxi directly to the commercial ambitions embedded in the Uber partnership and the broader ID. Buzz autonomous program.
Range, charging, and the practical limits of an all-electric robotaxi
Any robotaxi that spends its life in dense urban traffic also has to manage energy use and charging downtime. Volkswagen’s electric platforms are already being tuned for that reality, with The ID. Buzz offering an estimated range of 260 to 280 miles on a full charge under the WLTP standard, depending on configuration. That figure, cited in frequently asked questions about the ID. Buzz, underscores how the company is trying to balance battery size, weight, and cost while still delivering enough range for a full day of city operations, as detailed in the explanation that The ID Buzz offers an estimated range of 260 to 280 miles WLTP.
For a steering-free robotaxi, those numbers translate into concrete operational questions: how many trips can the vehicle complete before it needs to recharge, how quickly can it be turned around at a depot, and how does battery degradation affect long-term economics. Volkswagen’s focus on purpose-built autonomous vehicles suggests that it is designing both the hardware and the fleet management systems with those constraints in mind, using the Gen. Urban research vehicle and the Wolfsburg Pilot Program to test not only passenger reactions but also the logistics of keeping an all-electric robotaxi fleet on the road for as many hours as possible each day.
Why Volkswagen is racing to lock in a robotaxi role
The decision to test a robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals reflects a strategic calculation about where value will sit in the future mobility ecosystem. By moving quickly with the Gen. Urban research vehicle, the Wolfsburg Pilot Program, and the ID. Buzz autonomous strategy, Volkswagen is trying to ensure that it is not relegated to being a hardware supplier for tech-led services. The description of how Volkswagen has taken another visible step toward the future of driverless transport in the Wolfsburg Pilot Program, and how the Urban research vehicle is being used to explore a user-centric approach to autonomous mobility, shows an automaker that wants to define the passenger experience as much as the underlying engineering, a stance captured in the account of how Volkswagen is using a purpose-built vehicle to shape the cabin experience.
At the same time, the company is threading a needle between experimental prototypes and near-term commercial products. The steering-free robotaxi in Wolfsburg and the Gen. Urban research vehicle are clearly framed as prototypes and research platforms, while the ID. Buzz autonomous variants, the partnership with Uber, and the planned commercial launch of the self-driving ID. Buzz in 2026 point to a business model that could scale over the next decade. The combination of research in Urban in Wolfsburg, Germany, the Wolfsburg Pilot Program, and the ID. Buzz AD strategy suggests that Volkswagen sees autonomy not as a distant science project but as a core part of its growth plan, with the steering wheel and pedals becoming optional, and eventually absent, in a growing share of its vehicles.
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