Toyota to partner with Alphabet's Waymo on autonomous technology

Japan Times

30-04-2025

Toyota and Alphabet's Waymo will explore collaboration on autonomous driving technology, a potential boost to the Japanese carmaker's efforts to catch up to the cutting-edge systems offered by major rivals.
The companies, along with Toyota's automotive technology division Woven, will seek to develop a new autonomous driving platform, according to a joint statement Wednesday. They'll also look to enhance next-generation personally owned vehicles, they said.
Toyota and other major Japanese firms have poured money into artificial intelligence and autonomous driving for years, but have struggled to keep pace with the rapid changes spearheaded by brands like Tesla and BYD.
The Japanese company is looking to accelerate development after its Woven unit, which develops its Arene software, saw delays in the wake of a management overhaul in 2023. Last year, Toyota said it would jointly invest ¥500 billion ($3.3 billion) with Nippon Telegraph & Telephone to develop autonomous driving software that relies on AI to help predict and respond to traffic accidents.
For Waymo, the partnership represents its first step out of commercial ride-hailing cars and into personal vehicles. The company currently logs more than 250,000 trips each week across a handful of major U.S. cities.
The global auto sector is increasingly betting that the future of transport lies in autonomous vehicles and Toyota's Japanese peers are pursuing their own tie-ups. Nissan and U.K.-based Wayve announced a partnership earlier in April, while Suzuki is collaborating with startup Tier IV.
Strict regulations are a big hurdle for assisted and autonomous driving in most places around the world but especially so in Japan, where vehicles for the time being will require human supervision and intervention.