Alphabet’s self-driving taxi company, Waymo, is adding the Toyota bZ4X to its robotaxi lineup. Toyota will build a custom version of the electric SUV with the ‘Waymo Driver ‘integrated right on the line in Japan, and a test fleet will start operating there in 2027.
It’s the first actual vehicle to come out of the partnership the two companies signed last year. And it gives Waymo a Japanese-built car for its Tokyo launch, with the UK and other markets to follow.
When Waymo and Toyota first announced their deal in April 2025, it was a preliminary agreement to “explore” working together on autonomous driving, including in personally owned vehicles. Lots of intent, no product.
Now there’s a product. According to Waymo’s announcement, Toyota will produce the vehicles at its Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, and Waymo will install and integrate its self-driving hardware at that same site instead of retrofitting it elsewhere.
Rider-focused changes
The robotaxi bZ4X gets a few rider-focused changes: extra rear legroom, automatic doors, a power liftgate, and ambient lighting. Waymo didn’t share sensor specs, unit volumes, or what each vehicle costs.
Operations in 2027 are about testing and validating the autonomous bZ4X fleet in Japan. The UK and “other Waymo markets” come in later years, with no dates attached.
The two companies also say they’ll keep working on autonomous tech for Toyota’s personal vehicles, as well as safety projects with Woven by Toyota, the automaker’s software arm. Waymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov said that “Toyota’s commitment to zero traffic accidents resonates deeply with us at Waymo.”
“Toyota is committed to realizing a society with zero traffic accidents and becoming a mobility company that delivers mobility for all,” explained Hiroki Nakajima, Member of the Board and Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corporation, adding: “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.”
Important addition for Waymo
The timing lines up with Waymo’s Japan plans. In September, Waymo said it’s targeting fully driverless commercial rides in Tokyo in 2027 with taxi operator Nihon Kotsu and ride-hailing app GO, scaling to about 100 vehicles, pending regulatory approval.
In the US, Waymo’s fleet is still mostly Jaguar I-Pace SUVs, a model Jaguar no longer produces. It’s been adding the Zeekr-built Ojai van and the Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Hyundai is reportedly in talks to supply up to 50,000 Ioniq 5 robotaxis by 2028.
The bZ4X makes four. It isn’t Toyota’s first robotaxi bZ4X either: Toyota and Pony.ai started mass-producing bZ4X-based robotaxis in China earlier this year.
And Waymo is scaling. It now does over 500,000 paid rides a week across 15 US metros, and it picked Toronto as its first Canadian city earlier this month, with riders targeted for 2028.
Waymo’s biggest constraint right now is cars. It has been running a fleet built on a discontinued Jaguar, and every new automaker it signs adds manufacturing capacity it doesn’t have to build itself. Toyota is the world’s best-selling automaker. Having it build Waymo-ready vehicles on its own assembly line is exactly the kind of industrial partner Waymo needed.
