TÜV Inspection in Berlin: Autonomous Driving Should Quickly Become Everyday Life, Says Senator Bonde

Research Vehicle Edgar Completes Inspection Drive

Berlin's Senator for Transport, Ute Bonde, subsequently described autonomous driving as a "Gamechanger" for the capital. "Und ich glaube, wir sprechen jetzt nicht von einer langfristigen Perspektive, sondern von einer kurzfristigen Perspektive," the CDU politician said. Autonomous vehicles without a driver at the wheel must be deployed in Berlin as quickly as possible. Given demographic change and the looming shortage of personnel, the technology is decisive for the future of public transport in Germany. It could quite literally "revolutionize" public transit.

According to its own statements, the TÜV tested in Berlin for the first time in Germany a procedure that allows the behavior of an autonomous vehicle in a specific environment to be assessed safely and in a practice-oriented manner. TÜV President Dirk Stenkamp stated: "Die Berliner Realfahrt zeigt, dass autonomes Fahren auch im komplexen Stadtverkehr technisch möglich ist." Future permits could in the future be issued "quasi in Serie," Stenkamp continued – that is, significantly faster than before.

No Level 4 Approval in Germany Yet

Despite this finding, no Level 4 vehicle has yet been approved for public road traffic in Germany, even though this would legally be fundamentally possible. Level 4 means that a vehicle can drive fully autonomously in defined areas under certain conditions without a human having to intervene at the wheel. Widespread deployment in Berlin remains open for the time being: according to the Senator, there is no concrete timetable for the introduction of autonomous vehicles in normal city traffic.

As the first concrete applications in Berlin, the VW subsidiary Moia and the Berlin public transport company (BVG) are planning the deployment of autonomous shuttles on Berlin's streets. The TÜV drew the conclusion from the inspection drives that a fully autonomous vehicle can master big-city traffic safely and reliably, although disruptions cannot be ruled out. According to expert assessments, initial deployments in Germany are likely to focus primarily on smaller neighborhoods, limited routes, and public transport in particular.

How far the technology actually is was explained by Nijinshan Karunainayagam, a doctoral student at TU Munich: "So ein Auto ist in der Regel sicherer als der Mensch, weil er auch schon viel mehr sieht." Thanks to robust and reliable object recognition, the vehicle can easily handle stop-and-go traffic. "Dadurch, dass wir Objekte ziemlich robust und ziemlich zuverlässig erkennen, werden wir einfach im Stop-and-Go-Verkehr mitfahren," Karunainayagam said.

Lead Held by the USA and China

At the same time, the TU Munich researcher pointed to the challenges that remain: construction sites and aggressive other road users are difficult, since autonomous vehicles are programmed defensively and brake more sharply when others behave improperly. This defensive programming is simultaneously a safety feature and a reason why autonomous shuttles may travel more slowly than people are used to.

The view across the Atlantic shows, according to expert assessments, a clear lead for the competition. Ricco Kämpfer, an expert on autonomous driving at the management consultancy P3, stated that the USA and China are "significantly further ahead" than Europe with commercial autonomous fleets. In Munich, the ride-hailing provider Uber and the Israeli AI company Autobrains are jointly planning robotaxis.

Funding and Timeline Until 2032

Funding also remains an open question. Kämpfer emphasized that municipalities and transport companies want autonomous driving, but the financial resources to procure and operate larger fleets are still lacking. He estimates that initial regular services with autonomous shuttles and in public transport in Germany would be realistic in the years 2028 to 2032. Complex approval procedures and technical requirements are considered demanding among experts.

Bonde sees the technology as an opportunity for the transport transition at the same time: autonomous vehicles could make it easier to switch from one's own car to demand-driven mobility services. Currently, autonomous driving in Germany is being tested primarily in pilot projects. Level 2 vehicles with assistance systems such as lane-keeping and passing assistants, on the other hand, have long been widespread in everyday life.