Toyota and Waymo Will Test a bZ4X Robotaxi Fleet in Japan in 2027, With the UK to Follow

Toyota Motor Corporation and Waymo announced on November 1, 2026, the next phase of their autonomous driving collaboration: initial operations to test and validate an autonomous Toyota bZ4X fleet in Japan in 2027, with deployment to the United Kingdom and other Waymo-serviced markets planned for the following years. Building on a preliminary agreement announced in April 2025, the partnership marks a milestone in the expansion of Japan's first fully autonomous ride-hailing service using high-volume, domestically manufactured vehicles.

Toyota will build the vehicles at its Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. By pairing Toyota's global manufacturing and vehicle development expertise with Waymo's fully autonomous technology, the companies aim to accelerate scaling of safety-validated Level 4 autonomous vehicles globally. Waymo has already tested its autonomous services in Tokyo using the Jaguar I-Pace, but the bZ4X is the first vehicle built in Japan for the job.

The honest caveats: testing starting next year is a concrete step, but no public launch date has been attached for Japan or the UK, and the UK rollout still awaits regulatory approval. The companies also said they will continue to explore whether Waymo's technology could eventually reach personally owned Toyota vehicles, not just robotaxi fleets. For now, this is a production commitment with a named vehicle, a named factory, and a named timeline for testing — not a street-ready service date.