Waymo picks the Toyota bZ4X as a robotaxi for Japan, with Britain to follow
Testing starts in Japan in 2027. The companies have given no date for the UK.
Waymo and Toyota said on Friday that they will begin testing a self-driving version of the electric bZ4X in Japan during 2027, turning a preliminary agreement from April 2025 into a specific vehicle programme.
The UK is part of the plan. Waymo co-chief executive Dmitri Dolgov said the rollout would start in the right-hand drive markets of Japan and the UK, and the companies plan to deploy in Britain and other Waymo markets in the years following the Japanese tests. Neither company has set a date for the UK.
Built with the sensors already on
What sets this apart from Waymo's existing fleet is where the driving hardware goes in. Toyota will build the cars at its Takaoka plant in Toyota City, and Waymo's self-driving equipment will be installed at the same site, so the system is fitted during manufacture and not added to a finished car somewhere else.
Numbers are small for now. Toyota's chief technology officer, Hiroki Nakajima, said initial operations would involve a small number of vehicles and that the company wants experience in Japan before looking at wider opportunities. The firms have not said how many cars are involved or where in Japan they will operate.
The bZ4X does not replace Waymo's current plans in Japan, where it is testing Jaguar I-PACE vehicles and still intends to run a pilot with them in 2027.
