Waymo Is Expanding Internationally, Bringing Its Self-Driving Fleet to Tokyo
Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google parent company Alphabet, is going global.
The company said on Monday it was partnering with Japanese taxi service Nihon Kotsu and taxi app Go to bring its all-electric self-driving cars to Tokyo as a “road trip,” during which Waymo deployed test fleets to build and refine its self-driving technology.
In Tokyo, Waymo Driver “will learn and adapt to left-hand traffic and new driving nuances associated with operating in one of the most densely populated urban environments in the world,” the company said in a statement.
Waymo says its Jaguar I-Pace self-driving cars will arrive in Tokyo in early 2025. Nihon Kotsu will oversee the management and servicing of the vehicles, and human drivers will initially manually operate the vehicles to map key areas of the city.
“Through this initial phase in Tokyo, we will gain valuable experience and accelerate the development of Waymo Drivers, allowing us to evaluate how AI-powered drivers generalize to new environments through simulations,” Waymo said in a statement. “We are working with Japan Policymakers, regulators and local safety officials are working together to ensure Waymo’s technology is implemented responsibly and seamlessly on Tokyo’s streets.”
Look at this: This robotaxi looks and drives like no car you’ve ever seen before
Waymo currently Operating in a handful of U.S. citiesincluding San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles. It also plans to launch services in Atlanta and Austin, Texas, in 2025 through a partnership with Uber. Earlier this month, Waymo announced it would also expand to Miami, first putting its fleet on the road there in early 2025 and then eventually carrying passengers in 2026. In Phoenix and Miami, Waymo will partner with financial technology company Moove, which will manage the robotaxi fleet operations, facilities and charging infrastructure.
These partnerships in the U.S. and abroad could facilitate access to Waymo services by leveraging apps that people already have on their phones, such as Uber or Go. (It doesn’t take much time to download Waymo One (But people may be reluctant to take that step.) At the same time, partnering with Nihon Kotsu and Moove makes it easier to manage Waymo’s growing fleet by leveraging local teams that can keep everything running smoothly.
Waymo is one of a handful of companies, including those owned by Amazon, working to build and scale self-driving technology Zokes and startups like Avride, May Mobility and Nuro. The development of self-driving cars and robo-taxi services could be a steep road given the high costs, technical challenges and regulatory hurdles. Earlier this month, General Motors unplug The company said in a statement that it will review its Cruise robotaxi business “given the significant time and resources required to scale the business and the increasing competition in the robotaxi market.” Instead, GM said it will focus on developing advanced driver assistance systems and eventually fully autonomous personal vehicles.
Waymo is arguably the biggest player in self-driving right now, having made a series of recent expansions and giving the green light to fully self-driving charging in multiple cities. With a handful of new locations slated for the coming year, the company appears to be picking up speed — as long as its path to the finish line remains clear.
