The joint initiative will deploy autonomous bZ4X electric vehicles assembled with integrated self-driving hardware at the Takaoka plant in central Japan. Although operational territories and specific fleet sizes within Japan remain undisclosed, the project will begin with a small initial fleet. Lessons learned from the Japanese trials will inform future expansions into Britain and additional left-hand-drive regions. Meanwhile, Waymo is separately continuing tests in Japan with Jaguar I-PACE vehicles for a scheduled 2027 pilot.
Key points
Initial deployment will focus on operating a small fleet within Japan to establish baseli…: Initial deployment will focus on operating a small fleet within Japan to establish baseline operational experience.
The commercial roadmap prioritizes right-hand-drive markets including Britain before cons…: The commercial roadmap prioritizes right-hand-drive markets including Britain before considering wider international deployments.
The project operationalizes a platform collaboration agreement that the two companies fir…: The project operationalizes a platform collaboration agreement that the two companies first announced in April 2025.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
TOKYO, Oct 30 : Toyota Motor and Alphabet's Waymo will begin testing autonomous electric vehicles in Japan in 2027, the companies said on Friday, with deployment in Britain and potentially other markets planned in subsequent years.
Here are more details:
• Waymo will use its partnership with Toyota and the automaker's bZ4X model to take its autonomous-driving technology to a large-scale commercial operation, Waymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov said
• "We'll start with the right-hand drive markets in Japan and the UK," Dolgov said. "I think the vision and the strategic partnership is to extend that beyond that, but we don't have any other countries or timelines or specifics to share"
• Toyota CTO Hiroaki Nakajima said the automaker also made left-hand-drive vehicles, including the bZ4X, and wanted to gain experience in Japan before pursuing broader opportunities
• Toyota will build the vehicles at its Takaoka plant in central Japan, where Waymo's autonomous-driving hardware will also be installed
• Waymo is currently testing Jaguar I-PACE vehicles in Japan and still plans a pilot using them in 2027, Dolgov said
The international alliance builds upon an initial exploratory pact established 18 months ago to expand autonomous commercial fleets into key right-hand drive territories. By manufacturing factory-integrated autonomous vehicles, the companies are positioning themselves to address both commercial ride-hailing demand and future consumer automotive markets. This collaboration aims to leverage real-world fleet data to improve broader roadway safety and traffic infrastructure.
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