Toyota And Waymo Join Forces To Launch Driverless bZ4X Fleet In 2027

Factory-built Toyota bZ4X robotaxis will start testing in Japan in 2027, with right-hand-drive markets targeted before any private-vehicle plans emerge.

Photo by: Toyota

By: Brian Potter

Oct 30, at 4:44am ET

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Toyota is about to build a robotaxi on its own assembly line. The automaker and Waymo announced today that the Toyota bZ4X, sold as the "bZ" in the US, will become the platform for autonomous testing in Japan starting in 2027, with Waymo's self-driving hardware fitted at the factory.

The plan covers right-hand-drive markets, starting with Japan. Toyota's chief technology officer said the initial fleet will stay small, and neither company has named the test locations or a vehicle count yet.

Toyota bZ4X Autonomous Testing Starts In Japan In 2027

Waymo Jaguar I-Pace In Tokyo, Japan

Photo by: Waymo

Waymo already runs robotaxis across several US cities and is testing Jaguar I-Pace fleets in London and Tokyo. The bZ4X deal is its first factory-integrated program aimed at right-hand-traffic markets. Japan gets the first bZ4X test fleet, with the United Kingdom and other Waymo-serviced countries penciled in for later years, though no dates have been set.

The companies described 2027 as a testing and validation phase for the bZ4X program. It has not been confirmed how many bZ4X vehicles will run, which cities will host them, or when paying riders might get in one.

Waymo's all-electric Jaguar I-Pace fleet with the Waymo Driver is already driving in Tokyo, ahead of fully driverless commercial taxi service planned there in 2027. The bZ4X program runs alongside that effort. That gives Waymo two separate autonomous vehicle platforms tied to its Japan plans at once.

Toyota has kept this robotaxi work separate from anything meant for private buyers. The company said it will keep exploring vehicle-to-infrastructure tech and other ways to eventually bring driver-assist advances to customers. That work sits outside the Waymo deal entirely.

Waymo Hardware Will Be Integrated At Toyota's Takaoka Plant

Waymo / Jaguar Autonomous I-Pace

Toyota will build the autonomous bZ4X at its Takaoka plant in Toyota City, fitting Waymo's sensors and computing hardware during the same assembly run as the standard EV. Toyota already builds facelifted bZ4X models at Takaoka. The robotaxis use that same production line instead of a separate one.

Building the hardware at the factory could simplify quality control. It also cuts the extra engineering work needed to adapt a production vehicle after the fact. Toyota has relied on software-defined vehicle work before, an approach it has already applied to other safety systems across its lineup.

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The bZ4X is not the first Toyota EV to carry extra engineering for a specific mission. The automaker recently expanded its electric vehicle lineup with range-focused models, showing the same willingness to adapt a base platform for a narrow use case.

Toyota and Waymo did not disclose financial terms, production volume targets, or whether the Takaoka line will dedicate separate capacity to the autonomous builds. Those details, along with firm timelines for the UK rollout, remain the open questions heading into 2027.