German retailer Rewe tests autonomous ID. Buzz in daily operations

The test period of autonomous deliveries is a collaboration with Swiss technology company Loxo, a Swiss deeptech start-up focused on bringing autonomous technologies to commercial vehicles, and Bochum Economic Development, for which a specially equipped VW ID. Buzz will deliver orders for the Rewe delivery service in self-driving mode – accompanied only by a safety driver. The partners are implementing the maximum possible level of automation in a pilot application on German roads.

During the six-month pilot period, Rewe and Loxo aim to find solutions for bringing a technically autonomous delivery service with the highest possible capacity onto the road. The two companies will be gathering insights into the highest degree of autonomy possible with the relevant technical and economic key performance indicators (KPIs).

Kai-Uwe Reimers, Head of Research & Innovation at Rewe digital, says, “We want to test how highly automated vehicles can meaningfully complement our existing delivery processes.” He noted that the pilot project involves rapidly piloting and testing applications and continuously adapting them during implementation.

Rewe says that the autonomous ID. Buzz, recognisable with Rewe branding, is being integrated into the grocery chain’s existing delivery infrastructure. These routes are planned manually and controlled with Rewe e-commerce systems.

For delivery service customers, the difference from regular services will not be discernible. The safety operator, who will only be monitoring safety during the driving, will bring the groceries to customers’ doors as regular drivers usually do. Rewe did not reveal what they have in mind for this part of the service in the eventual absence of a person in the vehicle’s cabin.

At this level of autonomy – level 4 – a vehicle can handle journeys on certain routes independently and could eventually also drive without a safety officer on board. Rewe states that this is the first time a highly automated vehicle has been used in real-world operations in the German food retail sector. 

For Volkswagen, this is just one of several autonomous driving projects with the ID. Buzz electric van. Just last month, in October 2025, Berlin’s public transport operator BVG and Volkswagen’s mobility service Moia launched the testing phase of the NoWeL4 project using several ID. Buzz AD vehicles, now operating in the German capital, initially without passengers.

In European commercial vehicle operations, autonomous delivery vehicles are moving forward on several fronts. Most recently, in September 2025, Atlos and Electreon began collaborating to integrate Electreon’s wireless charging technology into Atlos’ autonomous vehicles, starting with electric vehicles used on fixed routes within production facilities, logistics centres and warehouse environments. The same month, Swedish pioneer in autonomous commercial vehicles, Einride, deployed a fully autonomous heavy goods vehicle on a public road in Belgium for the first time.

mediacenter.rewe.de (in German)