Toyota (TM.US) Partners with Alphabet's (GOOGL.US) Waymo to Test Autonomous Electric Vehicles in Japan in 2027

Toyota Motor Corp. Sponsored ADR (TM.US) and Alphabet's (GOOGL.US) Waymo announced on Friday that they will begin testing autonomous electric vehicles in Japan in 2027, with plans to subsequently deploy in the UK and other potential markets. Waymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov said Waymo will leverage its partnership with Toyota and the Toyota bZ4X model to bring its autonomous driving technology to large-scale commercial operations. "We'll start with right-hand-drive markets like Japan and the UK," Dolgov said. "I think the vision and strategic partnership will expand to more markets, but there are no other specific countries, timelines or details to share at this time." Toyota Chief Technology Officer Hiroki Nakajima said Toyota also produces left-hand-drive vehicles including the bZ4X, and hopes to gain experience in Japan first before pursuing broader opportunities. Toyota will produce these vehicles at its Takaoka plant in central Japan, where Waymo's autonomous driving hardware will also be installed. Dolgov said Waymo is currently testing Jaguar I-PACE vehicles in Japan and still plans to conduct a pilot with these vehicles in 2027. The two companies did not disclose how many bZ4X vehicles will be deployed initially, nor which regions in Japan they will operate in. Nakajima said initial operations will involve a small number of vehicles. Toyota and Waymo first announced in April 2025 that they would explore cooperation to develop a new autonomous vehicle platform.