Yokohama, 22 October, 2024 – The Automated Driving Alliance, a partnership between Bosch and the Volkswagen subsidiary CARIAD, starts testing its automated driving systems in Japan. First Volkswagen ID.Buzz vehicles will start test driving in Japan by mid of October 2024. These vehicles will be used to test the jointly developed software stack, with which Bosch and CARIAD are taking a further step towards making assisted and automated driving functions suitable for volume production, and thus available to the broad mass of consumers.
The ID.Buzz vehicles are equipped with the latest technology to handle highly complex traffic situations in real conditions. The vehicles have several cameras, radars as well as a centralized computing system on board, that record all relevant data. In addition, special measurement technology is used to enable a comprehensive evaluation.

Ideal testing conditions in Japan
Japan is a particularly interesting market, especially due to its complex urban structures and traffic conditions. The country offers ideal scenarios for testing L2 up to L3 systems, which enable assisted and automated driving functions in various forms.
Megacities such as Yokohama offer traffic routing and rush hour conditions that are not found in this form in European cities. This allows valuable data to be collected, which further advances the development of the systems. Moreover, left-hand traffic makes Japan a unique testing ground compared to other Asian markets such as China, where right-hand traffic prevails. By testing in this special traffic environment, the Automated Driving Alliance can gain valuable insights that are particularly important for the Japanese market.

Important step towards internationalization
The common goal is to build a software stack that can be used worldwide. By testing the ID.Buzz in Japan, Bosch and Cariad are underlining the importance of the Asian market, and Japan in particular, for the further development of automated driving technologies. These tests serve not only for technical validation, but also for the preparation of future features and services specifically tailored to the Japanese market.

The new test vehicles now being used as part of the Automated Driving Alliance complement Bosch's activities for the development of assisted and automated driving functions in Japan. The company has already been driving forward the development of automated driving in the Japanese market for several years in line with the local-for-local approach. As part of the Automated Driving Alliance with CARIAD the software stack initially set up for the European market is now being internationalized. Initial activities have also begun in the USA.

For further information, please contact:

Aiko Furuichi
Mariko Johdoji
Phone: +81-45-605-3010