Toyota to Build Purpose-Built bZ4X Fleet for Waymo in Japan

Toyota Motor Corporation and Waymo plan to test a purpose-built bZ4X ride-hailing fleet in Japan in 2027, with Toyota handling assembly and integration of Waymo’s autonomous hardware before commercial service.

Toyota will carry out both steps at its Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. The plan covers assembly of the base vehicles and installation of Waymo hardware at the same facility. The bZ4X vehicles are intended for ride-hailing use. Commercial service is planned to follow the initial testing and validation operations, but no start date for passenger service has been set.

The companies also plan to deploy the vehicles in the United Kingdom and other markets where Waymo operates in later years. They have not specified a year for those deployments. The initial Japanese operation also has no disclosed fleet size, specific city or exact start date within 2027.

Waymo has a separate plan to begin fully autonomous public trips in Tokyo in 2027 with partners GO and Nihon Kotsu. The planned service is subject to national and local regulatory approval and completion of technology and operational validation. It is expected to start with an initial fleet and expand gradually to around 100 vehicles across key Tokyo neighborhoods.

The Tokyo service plan does not identify the bZ4X as its vehicle. The Toyota partnership, by contrast, sets out initial testing and validation for a bZ4X ride-hailing fleet in Japan, followed by commercial service. The two plans share a 2027 target in Japan, but the announced details do not connect the vehicle fleet to the Tokyo public-ride program.

The partnership follows a preliminary agreement Toyota and Waymo announced in April 2025 to explore work on autonomous-driving technology and a new autonomous vehicle platform. That earlier agreement did not specify a bZ4X fleet or production at the Takaoka plant.