Alphabet’s (GOOG) Waymo announced on Wednesday that it plans to offer service in London beginning in 2026, marking its first move into Europe.
Although it’s currently testing its robotaxis in Tokyo, this will in fact be Waymo’s first international launch outside of the United States.
The company will be offering its service in collaboration with Moove, which will be overseeing the fleet operations.
Waymo said that it will be engaging with local and national leaders over the coming months in order to secure the necessary approvals to offer its robotaxis in London.
“We’re thrilled to bring the reliability, safety and magic of Waymo to Londoners,” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a statement," the company said in a press release.
“Waymo is making roads safer and transportation more accessible where we operate. We’ve demonstrated how to responsibly scale fully autonomous ride-hailing, and we can’t wait to expand the benefits of our technology to the United Kingdom. ”
Waymo also highlighted its ties to the United Kingdom, noting that London and Oxford are home to its first international engineering hubs.
“I’m delighted that Waymo intends to bring their services to London next year, under our proposed piloting scheme,” Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander said in a statement.
“Boosting the AV sector will increase accessible transport options alongside bringing jobs, investment, and opportunities to the UK.”
SIr Grant Shapps, former UK Defense Secretary, said in a post on X that Waymo is “exactly the kind of tech a leading nation should champion.”
“I’ve ridden them in the U.S., and it genuinely feels like travelling in the future,” he added.
Waymo said that it has driven over one hundred million fully autonomous miles on public roads in the United States so far and provided more than ten million paid rides.
Tesla is gaining on its heels
Founded in 2009, Waymo entered the autonomous vehicle market with almost no competitors. But as competition now heats up in the robotaxi market, the company might have to begin picking up the pace of its growth strategy.
Waymo has historically “focused on a slow-and-steady approach to scaling its business,” as MarketWatch noted – but this approach might no longer work as Elon Musk looks to aggressively ramp up his Tesla robotaxi service.
Musk said on the company’s July earnings call that he expects half the US population will have access to Tesla’s robotaxi service by the end of 2025.
That might be an unrealistic projection because half the US population would mean roughly 171 million people, but it points to his ambitions.
Morningstar equity analyst Seth Goldstein estimated in September that Tesla’s full robotaxi service, which Morningstar defines as having no Tesla employee on board and no geofencing – will not actually launch until 2028.
However, Goldstein maintains that “Tesla’s robotaxi business is nearly priced for perfection” and expects Musk to be able to build it out even more rapidly than rivals like Waymo once it does launch.
“Tesla’s autonomous driving system offers the ability to scale and enter new markets,” he said.
“This is because its camera-only approach can take its ability to drive safely in one place and recognize how to drive safely in a different location. This should allow Tesla to grow faster than peers.”
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