Waymo and Toyota Explore Partnership to Bring Self-Driving Tech to Personal Vehicles

Alphabet’s Waymo autonomous vehicle division is exploring a collaboration with Toyota to develop an autonomous vehicle platform that would bring self-driving technology to personally-owned cars.

The partnership, which would also include Toyota’s innovation arm Woven by Toyota, would accelerate the development of autonomous and driver-assisted technology by tapping both companies’ strengths, according to a Tuesday (April 29) Waymo blog post.

“In parallel, the companies will explore how to leverage Waymo’s autonomous technology and Toyota’s vehicle expertise to enhance next-generation personally-owned vehicles,” the post said.

The alliance also means Waymo would be adding Toyota vehicles into its self-driving fleet.

Waymo has had tie-ups with other automakers over the years, including partnerships with Hyundai, Geely, Stellantis’ Fiat and Chrysler brands, and Volvo. To date, the collaborations have resulted in advanced driver-assisted technologies but not autonomous vehicles.

Waymo is one of the few robotaxi companies that has achieved Level 4 autonomy, meaning it doesn’t need human oversight but can only operate in a designated area. Another major robotaxi company that has reached Level 4 is Amazon-owned Zoox. Meanwhile, Tesla is looking to enter the market.

Earlier this week, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai floated the idea of selling Waymo vehicles to the public. During the company’s first-quarter earnings call, Pichai said there is a “future optionality around personal ownership” of Waymo vehicles.

Other automakers have partnered with autonomous vehicle startups to bring self-driving to the public. Hyundai and Avride launched a robotaxi alliance in March. The collaboration will focus on the development of autonomous vehicles equipped with Avride’s driving system, while also expanding Avride’s fleet of Hyundai IONIQ 5 vehicles.

Hyundai had previously entered into a joint venture with Aptiv to develop self-driving technology but ended up buying most of Aptiv’s stake.

GM took full control of Cruise in February but said in December 2024 that it would no longer fund Cruise’s robotaxi development. Ford and Volkswagen partnered with Argo AI in 2019 to introduce autonomous vehicle technology in the United States and Europe, but Argo AI shut down in 2022.

Read also: Uber and Waymo Begin Taking Sign-Ups for Atlanta Robotaxi

Zero-Accident World

The potential Waymo-Toyota agreement represents another step toward the automaker’s vision of a zero-accident society and Waymo’s goal of making autonomous technology accessible to more people worldwide.

The Japanese carmaker said in the blog post that its focus on road safety is guided by its three pillars of people, vehicles and traffic infrastructure. Its vision of total road safety means automated driving and advanced safety technologies will “play a central role.”

“We share a strong sense of purpose and a common vision with Waymo in advancing safety through automated driving technology,” Toyota Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corporation Hiroki Nakajima said in the post.

Waymo provides more than 250,000 rides a week in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin. Waymo vehicles have 81% fewer injury-causing crashes compared to human drivers, per the post.

“Waymo’s mission is to be the world’s most trusted driver,” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in the post. “This requires global partners like Toyota that share our commitment to improving road safety and expanding accessible transportation.”