Volkswagen Group Launches Autonomous Vehicle Testing on Wolfsburg Streets

Volkswagen Group has started testing its Gen.Urban research vehicle in Wolfsburg city traffic. The self-driving vehicle will operate on a nearly ten-kilometre route through the German city. The testing phase began on December 12, 2025.

The Gen.Urban can now drive itself in real urban traffic following intensive trials in controlled environments. The vehicle operates without a traditional steering wheel or pedals. A trained safety driver sits in the passenger seat and can intervene if necessary using a special control panel with a joystick.

The test route moves through Wolfsburg's city area and includes traffic light intersections, roundabouts, construction sites, residential areas, and industrial sections. Each test drive takes approximately twenty minutes. The route starts from the visitor parking lot at the Volkswagen headquarters building and passes through Sandkamp factory gate, Saar and Lessing streets, Brandenburger Platz, Breslauer Street, Grauhorststraße, and returns via Heinrich-Nordhoff-Street.

Volkswagen Group Innovation leads the research project. An interdisciplinary team including designers, human factors specialists, software engineers, and materials experts gathers data on how people interact with the vehicle. The current testing phase involves Volkswagen Group employees and will last for several weeks.

Dr Nikolai Ardey, Head of Volkswagen Group Innovation, stated: "The technology for autonomous driving is making progress. With our Gen.Urban research vehicle, we want to understand how passengers experience autonomous driving. The key to customer experience is to build trust through meaningful interaction, a relaxed atmosphere, and intelligent assistance systems that respond to passenger needs."

The Gen.Urban offers a personalised driving experience. Passengers can customise preferences before departure through an app or directly in the vehicle, from cabin temperature to ambient lighting. The seat automatically adjusts to the desired position. The vehicle's digital interior adapts to individual preferences using artificial intelligence. A display adjusts information, light, and sound based on an individual theme.

The research project explores how people spend time in a self-driving vehicle and which digital features support work, entertainment, or relaxation. The team also studies how the vehicle should interact with passengers, particularly older people and children. The findings will help develop future interior and user experience concepts across the Volkswagen Group's brands.

Multiple organisations operate autonomous vehicle testing programmes in Wolfsburg beyond Volkswagen Group. The city hosts the Testfeld Digitale Mobilität Wolfsburg, a network coordinating various digital mobility projects. This testing field brings together different stakeholders to create conditions for safe, comfortable, and successful connected and automated driving.

The initiative operates under the broader Wolfsburg Digital movement. It aims to test vehicle technologies in real conditions to improve outcomes for all road users whilst considering safety. The testing field supports five focus areas: Car2X applications, electric mobility and charging infrastructure, intelligent parking, data platforms and mobility services, and new forms of mobility and logistics.

Companies and startups can test new technologies, pilots, or proof of concepts in this real environment. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has tested its ID. Buzz vehicle with Mobileye Drive technology in other German cities, including Munich and Hamburg. Volkswagen partnered with Mobileye, receiving an automated vehicle testing permit recommendation from TÜV SÜD, an independent technical service provider. This approval allows testing anywhere in Germany, including urban and rural areas and the Autobahn at speeds up to 130 kilometres per hour.

The testing field also works with regional research projects including Testfeld Niedersachsen, the Smart City Wolfsburg model project, and the 5G testing facility in the Braunschweig-Wolfsburg mobility region. The Wolfsburg testing field provides a platform where enterprises access technical systems and data they would not normally have access to, enabling identification of new solution possibilities through networking existing infrastructure.