Summary
Waymo and Toyota plan to test and validate a fleet of autonomous Toyota bZ4X vehicles in Japan in 2027. They say later deployment is planned for the UK and other markets where Waymo operates.
Waymo and Toyota plan to begin testing and validating a fleet of autonomous Toyota bZ4X vehicles in Japan in 2027, the companies announced on October 30, 2026. The next phase of their collaboration builds on a preliminary agreement announced in April 2025. Deployment in the UK and other markets served by Waymo is planned for subsequent years.
The 2027 work is described as testing and validation, rather than the start of a public ride-hailing service. The announcement does not give a launch date for passenger service in Japan.
A bZ4X adapted for autonomous ride-hailing
Toyota will build the vehicles at its Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. The companies say the process will cover both assembly of the base vehicle and integration of Waymo’s autonomous-driving hardware at the same site. They have not specified the hardware configuration in the announcement.
Waymo describes the vehicles as Level 4. In standard automotive terminology, Level 4 automation means an automated driving system can carry out the driving task within its defined operating conditions without requiring a human driver to take over. The classification is bounded by those conditions; it does not mean a vehicle can drive autonomously on every road in every situation.
The custom-outfitted bZ4X is also intended to make boarding and riding more accessible. The companies list generous rear legroom, automatic doors, a power liftgate and ambient lighting among its features. These are design details for the planned fleet, not a specification of every bZ4X vehicle.
A manufacturing partnership, with wider ambitions
The collaboration pairs Toyota’s vehicle development and manufacturing work with Waymo’s autonomous-driving system. Integrating that system during vehicle production gives the companies a shared manufacturing process for the fleet they plan to validate; the announcement does not describe production volumes.
The partners also say they will explore adapting autonomous-driving technology for personally owned Toyota vehicles. Alongside Woven by Toyota, they plan to examine whether insights from Waymo’s real-world operations and data could help improve safety for other road users. These are exploratory initiatives, separate from the stated plan to test the bZ4X ride-hailing fleet.
The immediate milestone is therefore a Japan-based validation programme, with international deployment described as a later plan. The timing and operating scope of those subsequent deployments have not been specified.