Volkswagen is committing to autonomy here soon with a self-driving electric van based on the ID.Buzz concept. And if it all goes as planned, we might see it as soon as 2025.

The automaker made an announcement last week, teasing what appears to be a self-driving van. The design appears to have conventional lights on both ends of the vehicle, along with various sensors and cameras around the entire body.

This also hints at the production design of the ID.Buzz, a spiritual successor to the Microbus. Las mentioned in January by Volkswagen of America CEO Scott Keogh, the Buzz is expected to debit in 2022, with showroom releases the following year.

According to VW, the self-driving version will release in 2025. It’ll primarily be used to establish an automated taxi service in city areas. As such, it’ll be managed by the brand’s commercial service division.

As for the technology inside: the self-driving system is being developed by Argo AI. tests on the software are already taking place in public roads in Germany. The group has equal investments in VW and Ford, with Ford also using the software for their own self-driving systems.

The Argo AI will offer SAE Level 4 autonomy. This means that vehicles using it can drive completely on their own, with a few restrictions. This usually means either a predetermined geographical area (mapped out beforehand) and in clear weather conditions.

Volkswagen is also developing their own self-driving system via the new Car.Software Organization branch. Not much information is available on that at this time.

Don’t expect to see much of this if you live outside of major cities like New York and San Francisco. While we expect they will broaden their scope over time, the more rural it gets the later you can expect to see geographical support.