The Volkswagen Group has announced that it has signed an agreement for the development of an electric and autonomous transport network in Qatar. This must lead to the establishment of buses and shuttles in the country’s capital, Doha.
The project is the result of the cooperation of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) with the Volkswagen Group, which involves four brands under the group, namely Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle, Scania, MOIA, and Autonomous Intelligent Driving (AID).
The objective is to improve Doha’s transport infrastructure, but also to adapt it to these vehicles and to develop their legal framework. Initially, Volkswagen and Qatar will join the unmanned service of 35 electric four-seat BUZZ, electric shuttles that the company teased during the summer, in the West Bay area of Doha (The maximum running distance is around 435-600 kilometers per charge).
Ultimately, they will be used as shuttles that can take up to four passengers each on routes within Doha. A dozen Scania brand buses will be used to transport larger groups of passengers.
Closed testing will be done in 2020, and the unofficial test run of the unmanned BUZZ electric train will be in 2021 to be officially ready to coincide with the World Cup Festival in 2022.
