As Tesla and Waymo compete to be the first company to produce fully autonomous taxis, a new competitor has entered the fray: Volkswagen.
According to Fortune, the German automaker believes that their plan for autonomous EVs will hold great appeal for the communities where they plan to launch them, in that they'll be working within the existing frameworks and businesses of those communities.
"Our approach is different—we deliberately want to act as partners that build upon existing infrastructure," VW Group executive Sascha Meyer told Fortune. "A key point for social acceptance we believe is being a service provider whose presence is desired precisely because we will not be competing with systems already in place."
This flies counter to what Tesla and Waymo are both doing. These companies have come into cities and started to muscle out existing transit companies, including public transit by running their own services to generate revenue exclusively for themselves.
Volkswagen is taking a decidedly different approach; the company is going to work with local and national transit authorities and governments to build its market base. For example, VW signed a letter of intent with the BVG authority in Berlin, which is responsible for the everyday transit of over 3 million people.
Working with those groups and authorities, rather than against them like Waymo and Tesla are, could theoretically see Volkswagen's autonomous robotaxis more enthusiastically integrated into cities' transit systems. On top of that, by cooperating with local authorities on regulations and testing, Volkswagen hopes to build both public and governmental trust in their products, as the brand has focused on with its non-autonomous vehicles for decades.
However, the German company recognizes it faces an uphill battle. Waymo is already operating in multiple U.S. cities, while Tesla's robotaxi program officially kicked off its testing system in Austin, Texas, in June. But while those companies may have a foothold, they're certainly not far enough along to have a stranglehold on the market. And in Europe, neither company has any kind of lead, meaning Volkswagen could use its established market position to its advantage.
"No one, not even in the United States, will be happy if there's a monopoly," Meyer said. "We don't believe it will be a winner-takes-all market."
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