Toyota Working With Waymo On Self-Driving Tech
Waymo and Toyota have announced a new partnership that could bring autonomous driving technology into privately owned vehicles. The collaboration looks to combine Waymo’s advanced self-driving systems with Toyota’s manufacturing expertise to accelerate the development of driver-assist and autonomous features for personal use.
Key Points
- The companies will collaborate on integrating Waymo's self-driving systems into privately owned Toyota vehicles, moving beyond fleet-only applications.
- Waymo co-CEO hinted that Toyota models could also be added to its commercial robotaxi service, which now serves over 250,000 paid rides weekly.
- As GM pivots from Cruise and Tesla readies its own robotaxi rollout, Waymo and Toyota join a broader industry trend toward self-driving tech for individual ownership.
In a joint statement, the companies said they are “exploring how to leverage Waymo’s autonomous technology and Toyota’s vehicle expertise to enhance next-generation personally owned vehicles.” While the project is still in the early stages, Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said that Toyota vehicles could also be integrated into Waymo’s existing ride-hailing fleet.
At the same time, the pair will look to co-develop a new autonomous vehicle platform that would be used for robotaxi work. The scope of collaboration between Toyota and Waymo is expected to continue evolving as discussions progress.
Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, has ongoing partnerships with several global automakers, including Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler, Hyundai, and Geely. Most of which have seen production vehicles adapted for testing or use in Waymo’s driverless ride-hailing network.
The new collaboration with Toyota shouldn't change plans to deploy Hyundai vehicles through its Waymo One service. That service, which operates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, recently expanded and now delivers over 250,000 paid rides per week
The play comes as the industry starts looking beyond fleet-based robotaxi services to consumer-facing autonomous solutions. GM, for example, shut down operations at its Cruise division last year to pursue self-driving systems for personal vehicles instead.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai recently hinted at the potential for Waymo-equipped personal vehicles, saying the company sees “future optionality around personal ownership” of its autonomous technology.
Meanwhile, Tesla is moving quickly to commercialize its own driverless ambitions. CEO Elon Musk has promised to launch a robotaxi service using unsupervised Full Self-Driving-equipped Model Y crossovers by June in Austin.
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An experienced automotive storyteller and accomplished photographer known for engaging and insightful content. Michael also brings a wealth of technical knowledge—he was part of the Ford GT program at Multimatic, oversaw a fleet of Audi TCR race cars, ziptied Lamborghini Super Trofeo cars back together, been over the wall during the Rolex 24, and worked in the intense world of IndyCar.
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