ZF to test Level 4 autonomous system in Germany

ZF has received authorisation from the regulatory agency KBA to test a Level 4 system for autonomous driving on public roads throughout Germany. Previously, the individual authorisations granted applied to clearly defined stretches of road or urban areas.

According to ZF, the focus of the testing initiative is on local public transport, including urban and regional transport. Motorways, highways and roads with a maximum permitted speed of more than 100 kph are therefore excluded from the permit. The authorisation is currently valid until the end of 2026 and can then be extended until the end of 2028.

The testing permission applies to all of Germany, however, ZF started its initiative in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, aiming to conduct a successful trial project with the local public transport operator Rheinbahn AG. In fact, the testing already began in February, when ZF Mobility Solutions tested the short-term use of an autonomous mobility solution with a safety driver on public roads on behalf of Rheinbahn AG in Düsseldorf. As part of the XPONENTIAL trade fair for autonomous technologies and robotics and the subsequent customer days, public transport operators and representatives of cities and municipalities were given the opportunity to ride in an autonomous transport system.

For the tests, ZF specifies that the partners focused on the organisational and technical capability of the company. Specifically, this involves advisory activities in the selection and evaluation of potential routes, mapping them and drawing up the requirements profile for hardware and software.

“The Germany-wide Level 4 test authorisation for our autonomous driving system marks a significant step towards autonomous mobility in local public transport. The KBA approval is a catalyst for the use of autonomous transport systems throughout Germany, and therefore for the entire industry,” explained Alexander Makowski, Head of ZF Mobility Solutions. He further explained that the new regulation will also simplify further testing: “We can now test autonomous mobility systems in a wide variety of environments – from urban centres to rural regions. In future, we will no longer need a separate test licence for this. This saves our customers time and money. They can now implement urban and regional transport projects faster, more cost-optimised and more efficiently.”

The state’s transport minister, Winfried Hermann, stated how proud he was of his state’s role in the research: “With RABus, Baden-Württemberg has done pioneering work in autonomous driving with shuttle buses. For me, the nationwide authorisation to operate the RABus throughout Germany is a kind of accolade for the project. The findings from the state are now helping to further develop autonomous mobility systems nationwide and bring them closer to market maturity at SAE Level 4.”

zf.com