Waymo Picks the Toyota bZ4X as Its Next Robotaxi, Starting in Japan in 2027

Toyota and Waymo announced on October 30, 2026 that Toyota will build autonomous versions of its bZ4X electric SUV for Waymo robotaxi service, with initial test operations in Japan in 2027 and deployment to the United Kingdom and other markets where Waymo operates in the following years. The vehicles will be manufactured and fitted with Waymo self-driving hardware at Toyota Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture — the entire process under one roof, from assembling the base vehicle to integrating the autonomous system, rather than retrofitting finished cars after the fact.

That factory-built approach is the real news. Waymo current fleet is mostly Jaguar I-Pace SUVs, a model Jaguar no longer produces, with Zeekr-built vehicles and Hyundai Ioniq 5 models being added; the bZ4X becomes a fourth platform and the first built for driverless work from the start on a high-volume line. Rider-focused changes reported for the vehicle include extra rear legroom, automatic doors, a power liftgate and ambient lighting, though sensor specifications, volumes and per-vehicle costs were not shared. Neither company said how many cars Toyota will build or which Japanese cities will host the first fleet — Toyota says only that the first fleet will be small.

The deal builds on a preliminary agreement the two companies signed in April 2025 and marks Waymo first major autonomous ride-hailing expansion into Japan, a right-hand-drive market where Waymo has said it targets fully driverless commercial rides in Tokyo in 2027 with partners, scaling to about 100 vehicles pending regulatory approval. Waymo has also been testing Jaguar I-Pace vehicles in London for months and plans a launch there once permits arrive, which is why the UK is named as the next market after Japan. The timeline to watch is not the announcement — it is the first driverless bZ4X carrying a paying passenger, which no one has yet dated.