Waymo plans to launch autonomous ride-hailing service in Madrid region in 2027 — Channel NewsAsia

Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous driving unit, plans to launch a fully autonomous on-demand ride service in Spain's Madrid region in 2027. This will be the company's first launch in the country, Channel NewsAsia reports.

Vehicle preparation

Electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles are expected to appear on Madrid's streets in the coming days. At the initial stage, trained specialists will be behind the wheel, with autonomous operation planned to begin later.

Waymo will operate under the autonomous vehicle testing framework introduced by Spain's road authority, the DGT.

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International expansion plans

The company also said it intends to launch the service in London in 2026, in Tokyo in 2027 with Nihon Kotsu and Go after receiving regulatory approvals, and in Toronto in 2028 jointly with Element Fleet Management.

Waymo's figures

According to Waymo, its fleet already operates in more than 15 U.S. cities, makes more than 500,000 paid rides each week, and has completed more than 20 million such rides in total. The company also claims that data collected over more than 400 million kilometers of autonomous driving indicates a 95% lower number of crashes involving serious injuries or more severe consequences compared with human driving.

Last month, the DGT issued the first nationwide permits for autonomous vehicle testing to WeRide and Uber. Commercial launches of services in Madrid are expected by the end of 2026.