The two companies are leveraging Waymo’s autonomous technology and Toyota’s vehicle expertise to advance next-generation personal vehicles.
The partnership aims to accelerate the development of driver assistance and autonomous driving technologies for personal vehicles.
Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said the strategic relationship could also lead to the Google-owned company integrating Toyota vehicles into its fleet.
The partnership with Toyota is Waymo’s latest move into the automotive space. The self-driving car company has previously worked with automakers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Fiat Chrysler, the predecessor of Stellantis, Daimler Trucks, Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes, Hyundai, and Geely. Long-term partnerships have allowed automakers to create customized vehicles for testing or use in Waymo’s fleet.
The partnership with Toyota will not affect Waymo’s plans to deploy Hyundai and Geely vehicles through its Waymo One ride-hailing service in the future, a Waymo spokesperson told CNBC.
Waymo now provides 250,000 paid rides per week, up from 200,000 in February. Waymo operates commercial driverless ride-hailing services in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin areas.
Waymo and Toyota are not the only companies focused on personal autonomous vehicles. When General Motors announced in December 2024 that it would exit its Cruise robotaxi business, the company said it would instead focus on developing autonomous systems for use in personal vehicles.,