Waymo's international expansion will begin this very year on the streets of Tokyo.

The American autonomous vehicle company for passenger transport, Waymo, is preparing to kick off this new year in a big way by deploying its first vehicles outside its home market. Within a few months, residents and tourists in the Japanese capital will also be able to travel in Waymo’s driverless vehicles, just as already happens in some American cities.

As might be expected, in a first phase these vehicles, which will be seen driving through the streets of Tokyo, will do so in testing mode. To this end, Waymo will collaborate with Nihon Kotsu, Japan’s largest taxi company, which will give it access to the GO taxi app. The first vehicles deployed will all be units of the Jaguar I-PACE, adapted in this case for driving on the left-hand lane and for the peculiarities of traffic in one of the most densely populated cities in the world.

The first batch of these I-PACEs will arrive in early 2025 and will be under the management and supervision of Nihon Kotsu. Initially, these vehicles will be driven manually by Waymo’s human drivers, with the aim of mapping all the routes within the city along which these vehicles will have to move on a daily basis.

An important step for Waymo

Waymo has not missed the opportunity to stress the importance of this new venture it is about to begin, not only because of the chance it offers to test the effectiveness of its autonomous driving technology, but also because it will allow it to collaborate directly with new partners and with local authorities.

The company’s goal during these first months will be to analyze the urban environment of Tokyo in depth and to study how it can be integrated productively into the city’s transport ecosystem. Waymo has also publicly committed to maintaining a very rigorous stance regarding safety.

This international expansion comes at a somewhat difficult moment for the company, which only a few days ago had to deal with a minor scandal in San Francisco when one of its robotaxis, with a passenger inside, began circling endlessly at an intersection after being unable to continue along the set route, until it was finally deactivated remotely.

This incident has drawn considerable criticism of the company and has also raised some doubts about the reliability of its autonomous vehicles, especially on occasions when a technical failure occurs, as in this case. Although there were no injuries or major damage, this incident has reinforced the need to implement more robust backup systems to avoid unpredictable behavior in the future.

Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverJaguar I-Pace2 versions · from 95,000 €