Toyota and Waymo plan autonomous bZ4X tests in Japan from 2027

Toyota and Waymo plan autonomous bZ4X tests in Japan from 2027

30 October 2026: Toyota and Waymo will start testing and validating a fleet of autonomous Toyota bZ4X cars in Japan in 2027, the next phase after a preliminary agreement announced in April 2025. Deployment to the United Kingdom and other Waymo markets is planned for the years after that, without dates.

Not yet independently verified. We read the joint announcement on Waymo's blog but not a copy on Toyota's own newsroom. The 20 times safety figure is Waymo's own claim, and the statement names no Japanese regulatory approval, vehicle count or launch city. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

One plant from base vehicle to autonomous hardware

Toyota will build the cars at its Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. The companies say the whole process stays under one roof, from assembling the base vehicle to integrating Waymo's hardware. Waymo's Ojai, by contrast, is produced at its own driver integration plant in Mesa, Arizona, as it said last month when describing a new version.

The rider-facing changes are modest and named: more rear legroom, automatic doors, a power liftgate and ambient lighting. The statement calls the result Japan's first fully autonomous ride-hailing service using high-volume, domestically made vehicles, and that wording is the companies' own.

Dmitri Dolgov, co-CEO of Waymo, said: "Toyota's commitment to zero traffic accidents resonates deeply with us at Waymo." He also repeated the company's claim that it is "up to 20x safer than human drivers" for serious crash injuries in the areas where it operates.

Hiroki Nakajima, a Toyota board member and executive vice president, said: "Safety technology makes the biggest difference when it reaches as many people as possible."

Private cars and road safety stay exploratory

Two further strands carry softer language. The companies will "continue to explore" autonomy for personally owned Toyota vehicles, which leaves open whether Waymo's system ever reaches a car a private buyer can order. With Woven by Toyota they will also explore how data from Waymo's operations could improve safety for other road users.

Neither strand has a date, a product or a commitment attached, and Nakajima ends on the point that no single company can reach zero traffic accidents alone.

What is missing for a UK or Japanese operator

The statement gives no vehicle count, no starting city and no fare or service date for Japan, and it describes 2027 as initial operations to test and validate rather than a public service. It does not mention a Japanese approval.

For the UK, a transport or fleet buyer has only the phrase "the following years". The rules are still being written: the Department for Transport has been consulting on a draft statement of safety principles for automated vehicles. In Japan, Tier IV and Taisei's road tunnel demonstration shows the ministry already working with other local players.

The companies and cars we list

We list Waymo among 15 autonomous vehicle operators, Toyota among 52 car makers, and the Toyota bZ4X among 120 electric cars. In Europe, Bolt has picked Nvidia's stack for robotaxis starting in Madrid in 2027.

Sources

• Waymo: Toyota and Waymo Advance Autonomous Driving Collaboration, 30 October 2026, 30 October 2026
• Waymo: From the road, 6 October 2026 (silver Ojai, Mesa plant), 6 October 2026