Toyota and Waymo announced a new phase of their autonomous-driving collaboration on October 30, 2026. The plan calls for electric Toyota bZ4X vehicles to undergo initial testing and validation in Japan in 2027, with Toyota expected to assemble the vehicles and integrate Waymo hardware at its Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture.
How Toyota plans to prepare the bZ4X
The reported plan puts base-vehicle assembly and integration of Waymo’s autonomous-driving hardware at Toyota’s Takaoka plant. Testing and validation are planned for 2027 in Japan. The announcement describes a development and testing phase, not a scheduled passenger service.
The United Kingdom is also named as a future market for right-hand-drive vehicles. That term refers to a vehicle with its steering wheel on the right. Waymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov identified Japan and the UK as right-hand-drive markets and said the companies had no other country timelines or specifics to share.
Tokyo has a separate robotaxi target
A report that Nippon Television News Japan aired on September 15, 2026, described a separate initiative involving Nihon Kotsu, taxi-app operator GO, and Waymo. Its target is about 100 driverless taxis in Tokyo in 2027, with safety and regulatory approval identified as priorities. The initiative is distinct from Toyota’s bZ4X testing plan.
