Toyota-supplied promotional image of a bZ4X fitted with Waymo autonomous-driving hardware. Image: Toyota / Waymo.
Toyota and Waymo will begin testing an autonomous fleet of Toyota bZ4X electric vehicles in Japan in 2027, the companies announced Friday, setting out a manufacturing plan aimed at expanding driverless ride-hailing beyond the United States.
Deployment of the vehicles in the United Kingdom and other markets served by Waymo is planned for the following years, according to the companies’ joint announcement. The initial Japanese operations will test and validate the fleet, rather than mark an immediate launch of a public commercial service.
Toyota will build and equip the vehicles in Japan
The bZ4X vehicles will be produced at Toyota’s Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. Assembly of the base vehicle and integration of Waymo’s autonomous-driving hardware will take place under the same roof.
The arrangement pairs Toyota’s vehicle development and manufacturing operations with Waymo’s fully autonomous driving technology. The companies say that combination will help them scale Level 4 autonomous vehicles internationally.
The custom-equipped bZ4X will have automatic doors, a power liftgate, ambient lighting and extra rear legroom. Toyota and Waymo described those features as ways to make entering, leaving and riding in the vehicle easier.
From a preliminary agreement to a fleet plan
The announcement advances a collaboration first outlined in April 2025. It now identifies a vehicle, a manufacturing site and a year for the start of testing in Japan, followed by deployment in additional markets.
Waymo co-Chief Executive Dmitri Dolgov said Toyota’s manufacturing partnership would help bring the company’s technology to more people, including in Japan. Toyota Executive Vice President Hiroki Nakajima said safety technology has the greatest impact when it reaches more customers.
Beyond ride-hailing, Toyota and Waymo will continue exploring autonomous-driving technology for personally owned Toyota vehicles. Woven by Toyota will also participate in work on how operational data and technology could improve road safety.
That work remains exploratory. Friday’s announcement does not put fully autonomous driving on sale to buyers of ordinary Toyota vehicles, and it does not set a date for the start of a commercial robotaxi service in Japan.
The companies also did not specify a fleet size or the value of the partnership in the announcement. The immediate milestone is the 2027 Japanese test-and-validation programme, with the United Kingdom and other markets intended to follow.
JBizNews Technology Desk | Tokyo
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