Waymo will begin testing its autonomous vehicle technology in Tokyo in early 2025, the first time the Alphabet company’s robotaxis have driven on public roads outside the U.S.
The move to Japan is part of Waymo’s “road trips,” a development program that involves bringing its technology to a variety of cities and testing it — with each city having different challenges. In Tokyo, the Waymo robotaxis will face left-hand driving and a dense urban environment.
Until now, those road trips have focused on a dozen U.S. cities, usually to test out specific conditions or environments such as rain in Miami or extreme heat in Death Valley, California. The company also has tested its vehicles in Buffalo; Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas; and Seattle. Typically, Waymo begins by bringing a small fleet to a city, where a human manually drives the vehicle and maps certain areas. The vehicles will eventually test in autonomous mode, at first with a human operator behind the wheel.
Waymo said it will partner with taxi-hailing app GO and taxi company Nihon Kotsu as part of its Japanese “road trip.” Nihon Kotsu will oversee the management and servicing of the Waymo vehicles, according to the company.
Initially, Nihon Kotsu drivers will operate the vehicles manually to map key areas of the Japanese capital, including Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chūō, Shinagawa, and Kōtō. Waymo said it is working with Nihon Kotsu’s team to train its employees how to operate Waymo’s self-driving Jaguar I-Pace vehicles.
The announcement comes just a week since GM said it would scrap its Cruise robotaxi program, a decision that also ended plans to launch a driverless ride-hailing service in Japan with partner Honda. In October 2023, Honda, Cruise, and GM announced plans to launch a robotaxi service in Tokyo together in 2026 using Cruise’s purpose-built robotaxis called The Origin.
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