Toyota and Waymo have confirmed a deal to bring self-driving cars to the streets of Tokyo.
The two companies had previously announced they were examining ways to work together, as Google spin-off Waymo looks to expand the number of cities covered by its autonomous ride-sharing technology.
To date, Waymo has only operated inside the United States, with San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin the core bases for its self-driving services.
However, a move to Tokyo is part of Waymo’s ambitious global expansion. The homegrown Toyota bZ4X will be used for autonomous ride-hailing work in the Japanese capital – a city inhabited by more than 14 million people.
Operations in Tokyo will get underway next year. Waymo has already tested its autonomous services in the megapolis using the Jaguar I-Pace.
Expanding Waymo around the world
Waymo has used the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and electric Jaguar I-Pace for most of its autonomous services thus far. However, the company has tested a wider array of vehicles in recent years.
For Tokyo, a Japanese-made electric SUV was the obvious choice. The bZ4X is assembled at Toyota’s Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture.
Automatic doors, ambient lighting, an electrically operated tailgate and generous rear legroom were all cited as reasons for choosing the bZ4X.
Toyota will handle the conversion of the bZ4X for autonomous driving duties, with next year serving as a test-run for how the new fleet performs within Tokyo.
Should the roll-out prove successful, more cities will gain autonomous Toyota taxis from 2028 onwards, including London.
London is next on Waymo’s list
The introduction of Waymo to Tokyo will give Japan its first domestically manufactured, fully autonomous ride-hailing service.
Dmitri Dolgov, co-CEO of Waymo, said: “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, executive vice president of Toyota, added: “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.”
ALSO READ:
BMW factories have moved one million cars without drivers
