Waymo's self-driving cars are taking a “road trip” to Japan, according to the Alphabet (GOOGL)-owned business. The company's Jaguar I-Pace electric cars will hit the busy streets of Tokyo, a city of 13 million residents, in early 2025 as Waymo tests autonomous driving across the US.
The robotics company currently operates about 700 vehicles in several American cities but has yet to officially start trading outside the country. To lay the groundwork for potential international expansion, its upcoming work in Japan will allow the company to “test how our AI-powered driver covers new areas through simulation,” Waymo said in a statement.
Waymo will partner with taxi app GO and Nihon Kotsu, Tokyo's largest taxi company, as it tests its vehicles in the Japanese capital. Currently, the first phases of the collaboration will see Nihon Kotsu drivers using Waymo vehicles to map key areas of Tokyo such as Minato, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chiyoda, Chūō, Shinagawa and Kōtō to train the company's self-driving AI systems in the city's congested environment. .
The overseas trip, which also marks Waymo's first foray into left-hand traffic, shows the company's interest in one day offering rides to the Japanese public. Japan's aging population provides room for much-needed traffic solutions, as the Japanese government looks to self-driving cars as a way to improve road safety for the world's oldest population.
Founded 15 years ago as a self-driving project within Google (GOOGL), Waymo became an independent Alphabet subsidiary in 2016 and launched its first self-driving service the following year in Phoenix, Ariz. Angeles, plans to bring its cars to Miami next year. Waymo has also partnered with Uber ( UBER ) in a partnership that will expand its autonomous service to Atlanta and Austin by early 2025.
Waymo's expansion into Japan “is in line with the country's vision for the future of transportation,” according to the company, which said it will resonate with Japanese policymakers, regulators and local safety officials as it deploys its autonomous vehicles across Tokyo.
While Japan's self-driving ecosystem has historically seen less movement than the US and Chinese markets, the world's vision for robotaxi is growing. Earlier this year, the Japanese government unveiled plans to allow autonomous driving services on at least 25 public roads next spring, with plans to later expand this number to 100 roads.
Some of Japan's biggest self-driving players include startup Tier IV, which launched a self-driving taxi service in Tokyo last month and is currently developing a new self-driving car that can fit the whole family. Backed by Japanese investors like SoftBank (SFTBF) and Toyota, Monet Technologies earlier this year announced plans to launch a private taxi service in parts of Tokyo, and Turing hopes to roll out 10,000 self-driving cars by the end. of the decade.
