Toyota and Waymo have announced the next phase of their autonomous driving collaboration.
Set to build on a preliminary agreement first announced in April 2025; Toyota and Waymo’s initial operations will see the testing and validation of an autonomous Toyota bZ4X fleet in Japan in 2027, with deployment to the United Kingdom and other Waymo-serviced markets planned for the following years.
The partnership marks a key milestone in the expansion of Japan’s first fully autonomous ride-hailing service using high-volume, domestically manufactured vehicles.
All vehicles will be built at Toyota’s Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The whole process will be carried out in one location, from the assembly of the base vehicle to the integration of Waymo’s AV hardware – which is intended to aid in the accelerated scaling of safety-validated Level 4 autonomous vehicles globally.
As well as the introduction of vehicles, the partnership will see both parties explore additional initiatives that support their shared goal of fewer road safety incidents, including how insights from Waymo’s real-world operations, data-driven intelligence, and technology might improve safety for other road users.
Dmitri Dolgov, Co-CEO of Waymo, said:Toyota’s commitment to zero traffic accidents resonates deeply with us at Waymo, and we’re proud to work together toward safer roads for all.
In areas where Waymo operates, we’ve demonstrated that we are up to 20x safer than human drivers when it comes to serious crash injuries, and our partnership with Toyota will help us bring the safety and convenience of autonomous driving to more people around the world, including key international markets like Japan.
We chose Toyota because of our respect for the legendary safety, reliability, and quality of their vehicles, and we look forward to deepening our collaboration as we scale our fully autonomous Waymo Driver technology globally.
Hiroki Nakajima, Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Vice President of Toyota, said:We are deeply grateful that Waymo, which helped pioneer fully autonomous driving technology, has chosen Toyota as its partner. Safety technology makes the biggest difference when it reaches as many people as possible.
This collaboration will help scale that technology and bring it to customers in Japan and beyond through Waymo’s ride-hailing service, and in parallel, Toyota will continue to explore how integrating vehicles with traffic infrastructure can make those roads safer still. No single company can achieve the goal of zero traffic accidents alone, but with partners like Waymo, we will get there one step at a time.
