Waymo has announced that it will begin driving its vehicles on Tokyo’s streets, making this the company’s first international location. Waymo announced the expansion in December, which is happening in partnership with Japanese taxi service Nihon Kotsu and taxi app Go. Now, the US-based company is finally ready to hit the road abroad.
Waymo says trained Nihon Kotsu drivers will manually drive its vehicles across seven Tokyo wards, including Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chūō, Shinagawa and Kōtō. This will allow engineers to test and adapt Waymo’s autonomous driving tech to local road features and traffic, according to CNET.
“In Tokyo, we are abiding by the same steadfast principles that guide us in the US — commitment to safety, dedication to earning trust in communities where we operate, and collaboration with local officials and community groups here in Tokyo,” Nicole Gavel, Waymo’s head of business development and strategic partnerships, said in a statement.
Waymo currently operates fully autonomous rides for the general public in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. In January, the company announced it would also begin testing with manually driven vehicles in 10 new cities this year, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego. It’s also slated to expand into Atlanta later this year through a partnership with Uber, and will begin offering rides in Washington, DC, through its Waymo One app starting in 2026.
Autonomous rides take place aboard the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace, but in October, Waymo announced it’s partnering with Hyundai to bring the next generation of its technology into Ioniq 5 SUVs. In the years to come, riders will be able to summon those all-electric, autonomous vehicles using the Waymo One app.
In August, Waymo unveiled the sixth generation of its self-driving technology, which aims to expand the capabilities of its driverless fleet. Smarter sensors are meant to help the cars better navigate in extreme weather, Waymo said. The sixth-gen Driver will come aboard the all-electric Zeekr vehicle, which features a flat floor, more head- and legroom, adjustable seats and a removable steering wheel and pedals. The updated tech is still being tested, and the company says it’ll be available to riders soon.
In October, Waymo also announced a partnership with Hyundai to integrate its sixth-generation Driver into the all-electric Ioniq 5 SUV, which, according to a blog post, “will be added to the Waymo One fleet over time.” The companies added that they “plan to produce a fleet of Ioniq 5s equipped with Waymo’s technology in significant volume over multiple years to support Waymo One’s growing scale.” Testing with these vehicles will start by late 2025 and become available “in the years to follow.”
(Pic: Waymo)
