Waymo adds the Toyota bZ4X to its robotaxi lineup. Toyota will build a customized version of the electric SUV with the Waymo Driver integrated directly on the line in Japan, and a test fleet will begin operating there in 2027.
This is the first real vehicle from the partnership the two companies signed last year. And that gives Waymo a Japanese-built car for its Tokyo launch, followed by the UK and other markets.
From “exploration” to building cars
When Waymo and Toyota first announced their deal in April 2025, it was a preliminary agreement to “explore” collaboration on autonomous driving, including in personal vehicles. Lots of intention, no product.
There is now a product. According to Waymo’s announcement, Toyota will produce the vehicles at its Takaoka factory in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, and Waymo’s self-driving hardware will be installed and integrated at that same site instead of being retrofitted elsewhere.
The bZ4X robotaxi benefits from some driver-focused changes: additional rear legroom, automatic doors, electric tailgate and ambient lighting. Waymo did not share sensor specifications, unit volumes or the cost of each vehicle.
Operations in 2027 aim to test and validate the autonomous bZ4X fleet in Japan. The UK and “other Waymo markets” are coming years later, with no dates attached.
The two companies also say they will continue to work on autonomous technology for Toyota’s personal vehicles, as well as safety projects with Woven by Toyota, the automaker’s software arm.
Waymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov said Toyota’s “commitment to zero road accidents resonates deeply at Waymo.”
Waymo now has four vehicle platforms
The timing matches Waymo’s plans in Japan. In September, Waymo announced it was targeting fully driverless commercial rides in Tokyo in 2027 with taxi operator Nihon Kotsu and ride-hailing app GO, scaling to around 100 vehicles, pending regulatory approval.
In the United States, Waymo’s fleet is still mainly made up of Jaguar I-Pace SUVs, a model that Jaguar no longer produces. It added the Zeekr-built Ojai van and the Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Hyundai is reportedly in talks to supply up to 50,000 Ioniq 5 robotaxis by 2028.
The bZ4X makes four. This isn’t Toyota’s first bZ4X robotaxis either: Toyota and Pony.ai began mass-producing robotaxis based on the bZ4X in China earlier this year.
For US readers, the updated model is sold here simply as the Toyota bZ, starting at $34,900. A cheap, high volume base vehicle is very important when trying to grow a fleet.
And Waymo is evolving. It now provides more than 500,000 paid trips per week in 15 US metros and chose Toronto as its first Canadian city earlier this month, with ridership targeted for 2028.
Electrek’s point of view
That’s a big deal, even if the bZ4X is as exciting as a toaster.
Waymo’s biggest constraint right now is cars. It operates a fleet built on discontinued Jaguars, and each new automaker it signs adds manufacturing capacity it doesn’t need to build itself. Toyota is the world’s best-selling automobile manufacturer. Allowing it to build Waymo-ready vehicles on its own assembly line is exactly the type of industry partner Waymo needed.
Yes, the bZ4X got off to a rocky start (Toyota recalled the first batch in 2022 because the wheels could come off). But it’s come a long way now – it’s become boring and unreliable. And for a robotaxi, the main thing is to be boring and reliable.
Compare that with Tesla’s approach: a steering-wheel-free, in-house built, two-seat Cybercab with a self-certified autonomy stack that still doesn’t work on Waymo’s scale. Waymo continues to plug its driver into existing electric vehicles from established automakers and expand city by city. So far it works.
What it looks like now. It appears that Toyota will resume manufacturing cars with Waymo drivers for right-hand drive markets. But what interests me most is the personal vehicle angle. Toyota and Waymo keep talking about it, but there’s still nothing concrete. If Toyota actually puts the Waymo Driver in a car you can buy, Tesla’s FSD supervised pitch becomes a much harder sell. Will it happen before the end of the decade? Who knows.
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