MAN and MVG prepare pilot operation for autonomous electric bus
Plans to test an autonomous city bus from MAN in Munich have been in place since 2023. At that time, stakeholders presented the MINGA research project (Munich’s Automated Local Transport with Ridepooling, Solo Buses, and Bus Platoons).
The Mobility Department of the City of Munich is leading the project. The Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV) is providing around €13 million in funding under the programme ‘Autonomous and Connected Driving in Public Transport.’
Originally scheduled for 2025, the autonomous solo bus is now set to enter trial operations in regular urban traffic from autumn 2026 with the Munich Transport Corporation (MVG). In recent months, MAN has worked with its new partner Adastec to equip a fully electric 12-metre bus of the type MAN Lion’s City 12 E with an Automated Driving System (ADS) and integrate it into the vehicle’s electronic architecture.
The wording ‘new partner’ is notable: Mobileye had originally been positioned as the key technology partner, as outlined in earlier deep dives into MAN Truck & Bus automation efforts.
Responding to an inquiry, MAN clarified that cooperation with Mobileye remains ongoing: since 2023, both companies have been working on autonomous city buses for public transport, generating ‘valuable insights.’ The partnership is set to continue beyond current pilot phases, with a view toward scaling into an industrialised AV program. In this context, MAN highlighted the broader synergies Mobileye brings through its integration across multiple AV and ADAS initiatives within the Volkswagen Group. At the same time, MAN confirmed a separate collaboration with Adastec, which is responsible for integrating an ADS system as part of the MINGA project.
Adastec, with operations spanning Turkey and the United States, focuses on SAE Level 4 automation software for buses and commercial vehicles. The company is already active in projects such as the Üstra Albus deployment in Burgdorf near Hanover and is known for retrofitting its technology into existing fleets.
Mobileye, by contrast, is targeting industrial-scale deployment. A current example is the Volkswagen ID. Buzz AD, which has been equipped with Mobileye technology in pre-series production in Hanover since March. Around 500 units are scheduled to be factory-fitted with the system over the course of this year.
For the MINGA project, the Lion’s City 12 E has been fitted with five LiDAR sensors, six radars, eight cameras, and a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). Combined with Adastec’s software, the electric bus is technically capable of automated driving. Initial test drives are already underway at MAN’s Munich site, where specific manoeuvres such as approaching bus stops are being tested. According to MAN, the goal of this phase is to refine the system, gather critical operational data, and further optimise the automated driving functions.
The MVG’s official pilot operation is set to begin in autumn with a closed user group. The vehicle will, among other things, steer, accelerate, brake, and signal independently. A safety driver will be on board to monitor the systems,” said Dr Michael Roth, Head of Bus Strategy and Product Strategy Bus at MAN.
Feedback from test users will also be systematically evaluated. The partners plan to announce in due course when and under what conditions public participation will be possible.
In the long term, automated buses are expected to improve transport safety while helping to address the driver shortage. Munich’s outgoing mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) previously highlighted the issue, noting that the city has many buses ‘but no one to drive them.’ Autonomous buses could offer a solution to this challenge.
At the same time, MAN plans to feed insights from the MINGA project directly into the development of future vehicle generations. The company has been working on driverless buses for years and aims to bring a fully automated series vehicle at SAE Level 4 to market within the next decade—for emission-free, connected and automated urban mobility. MAN has named 2030 as the target year.
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