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A Waymo self-driving vehicle, featuring a driver, recently came to a halt at a red light in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 31, 2025.
Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, has announced a preliminary alliance with Toyota to investigate the integration of robotaxi technology into personal vehicles.
“The collaboration aims to combine Waymo’s autonomous driving capabilities with Toyota’s extensive automotive expertise to innovate next-generation personally owned vehicles,” the companies stated.
The partnership is intended to expedite the development of driver assistance and autonomous vehicle technologies for personal use. Toyota holds the title of the world’s largest automaker by sales volume.
According to Waymo’s co-CEO, Tekedra Mawakana, this strategic collaboration may allow for the integration of Toyota’s models into Waymo’s ride-hailing services.
This alliance follows a trend in which Waymo has previously partnered with various automotive manufacturers, including Jaguar Land Rover, Fiat Chrysler (now Stellantis), Daimler Trucks, and Hyundai, among others. These collaborations typically resulted in the production of modified vehicles for testing or integration into Waymo’s operational fleet.
A representative from Waymo confirmed that this new partnership with Toyota will not interfere with plans to employ Hyundai and Geely vehicles in the Waymo One ride-hailing service moving forward.
Currently, Waymo provides approximately 250,000 paid rides per week, a rise from 200,000 in February, following its expansions into Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area in March. The company already operates its commercial, fully driverless ride-hailing services across regions including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin.
Alphabet’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, highlighted in the latest quarterly earnings report that Waymo’s long-term business model remains undefined, but he acknowledged the potential for personal ownership of vehicles outfitted with Waymo’s autonomous technology.
The initiative between Waymo and Toyota aligns with a broader industry shift towards personal autonomous vehicles. Following GM’s recent announcement in December about its strategic pivot from the Cruise robotaxi service, the company expressed a renewed focus on developing autonomous systems for individual vehicle ownership.
Historically, Toyota has also invested in and collaborated with Tesla, a competitor in the autonomous driving sector. However, after selling its stake in Tesla in June 2017, the two companies have diverged in their strategies.
Despite being regarded as a leading figure in self-driving technology, Tesla has yet to provide vehicles that can operate autonomously without a human driver prepared to take control. On a recent earnings call, Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, voiced criticism of Waymo, suggesting that the company’s robotaxi offerings are not feasible for mass production. He also indicated that Tesla plans to roll out “fully autonomous rides” in Austin by June using Model Y vehicles equipped with the latest “Full Self-Driving” systems.
— This report includes contributions from CNBC reporter Michael Wayland.
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