Gen.Urban Takes to Wolfsburg Streets as Volkswagen Group Advances Autonomous Mobility Research
(IN BRIEF) Volkswagen Group has launched a new urban testing phase in Wolfsburg with its autonomous research vehicle Gen.Urban, which is now operating in real city traffic without traditional driving controls. The project focuses on understanding how passengers experience self-driving journeys, from comfort and trust to digital interaction and interior design. Conducted with Group employees on a ten-kilometre urban route, the research will provide insights that help shape future vehicle interiors and user experience concepts across Volkswagen Group brands.
(PRESS RELEASE) WOLFSBURG, 12-Dec-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Volkswagen Group has begun a new phase of real-world testing in Wolfsburg with its autonomous research vehicle Gen.Urban, marking an important step in the Group’s exploration of future self-driving mobility. Following extensive development and closed-track trials, the vehicle is now operating autonomously on public roads within the city, navigating everyday traffic scenarios without a traditional steering wheel or pedals.
The urban test programme is designed to examine how passengers experience travel in a fully self-driving vehicle and what this means for future vehicle design, interior architecture and digital interaction. An interdisciplinary team from Volkswagen Group Innovation — bringing together expertise in design, human factors, software development and materials — is collecting detailed insights into user behaviour, comfort levels and interaction patterns during autonomous journeys. The findings will help shape next-generation interior and user experience concepts across the Group’s brands.
Central to the research are questions about how people choose to spend their time when driving is no longer required. The project looks at which digital functions best support activities such as work, entertainment or relaxation, and how vehicle–passenger interaction should be designed to suit a wide range of users, including children and older passengers. A key focus throughout the testing phase is understanding whether passengers feel comfortable and at ease in a self-driving environment.
Gen.Urban offers a highly personalised experience from the moment a journey is planned. Passenger preferences — including seating position, cabin temperature and ambient lighting — can be set in advance via an app or adjusted directly inside the vehicle. Upon entry, the vehicle welcomes the passenger and automatically adapts the seat and interior settings. Supported by artificial intelligence, the digital interior environment adjusts displays, lighting and sound to match individual themes and preferences.
The research vehicle has been developed without conventional driving controls. Test participants sit in the driver’s seat, while a trained safety driver occupies the passenger seat and oversees the journey. If required, the safety driver can intervene at any time using a specially developed control interface with a joystick.
The current testing phase involves Volkswagen Group employees and is scheduled to run for several weeks. Each test drive lasts around 20 minutes and takes place on a carefully selected route through Wolfsburg’s city area. Starting at the visitor car park near the Group’s headquarters, the nearly ten-kilometre loop passes factory entrances, residential neighbourhoods, industrial zones and busy city streets. Traffic lights, roundabouts, construction areas and congestion are deliberately included to reflect typical urban driving conditions.
According to Dr. Nikolai Ardey, Head of Volkswagen Group Innovation, the project is about more than technology alone. He emphasised that building trust is essential for the acceptance of autonomous driving, and that this depends on intuitive interaction, a calm and welcoming atmosphere, and intelligent assistance systems that respond precisely to passenger needs. The insights gained from Gen.Urban, he noted, will inform future mobility concepts across the entire Volkswagen Group.
Media Contacts:
Jonas Kulawik
Corporate Communications
Spokesperson Product & Technology, Digitalization
+49 (0) 152 2945 2616
jonas.alexander.kulawik@volkswagen.de
SOURCE: Volkswagen AG
MORE ON VOLKSWAGEN, ETC.:
———-
First published in this link of EuropaWIRE.
