Toyota announced a cooperative effort to test the self-driving capabilities of Waymo.
Waymo reported 4 million fully autonomous rides last year in the U.S., quadrupling its total before 2024. Driverless taxis now operate in Austin, Texas; Los Angeles, California; San Francisco, California; and Phoenix, Arizona. The company is averaging 200,000 rides a week this year, up from last year.
Now Toyota will put Waymo to the test in a city it built near Mount Fuji. The “Woven City” is complete with streets and housing to prove Waymo’s artificial intelligence. Waymo has the practice of sending test drivers to a new city before it begins operating there.
While the Japan-based automaker has high safety standards, in a joint press release, the company lauded Waymo’s safety, citing that its taxis are involved in “81% fewer injury-causing crashes compared to a human benchmark.”
Whether Waymo will begin using Toyota models remains to be seen, as the companies’ collaborative effort “will continue to evolve through ongoing discussions.” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a statement that she looks forward to “incorporating their vehicles into our ride-hailing fleet.” At the moment, its taxis hail from Hyundai, Zeekr, and Jaguar.
“Toyota is committed to realizing a society with zero traffic accidents and becoming a mobility company that delivers mobility for all,” Toyota Executive Vice President Hiroki Nakajima said. “We share a strong sense of purpose and a common vision with Waymo in advancing safety through automated driving technology, and we are confident this collaboration can help bring our solutions to more people around the world, moving us one step closer to a zero-accident society.”
Japan’s largest taxi company, Nihon Kotsu, had already begun operating some of the Waymo fleet at the beginning of this year. The move to Tokyo was Waymo’s first test of left-hand traffic. Nihon Kotsu drivers are driving Waymo taxis as they map out the neighborhoods of Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chūō, Shinagawa, and Kōtō.
“Waymo’s mission is to be the world’s most trusted driver. This requires global partners like Toyota that share our commitment to improving road safety and expanding accessible transportation,” Mawakana said.
DRIVERLESS WAYMO TAXIS TO ARRIVE IN DC BY 2026
Waymo taxi riders can hail autonomous vehicles via Uber in Austin and soon in Atlanta, Georgia.
This comes a month after Waymo announced it will next begin operations in Washington, D.C., next year.