Waymo names Singapore as its next international robotaxi city

Waymo, the self-driving car company owned by Alphabet, has announced it will launch a robotaxi service in Singapore in 2028 as part of its continued push into overseas markets.

The company says its vehicles will begin arriving in Singapore within the coming months to start mapping the city. Autonomous testing with human safety drivers behind the wheel is set to begin in 2027, with the goal of offering fully autonomous ride-hailing to the public by 2028.

Regulatory approval required

Before Waymo can accept passengers, it will need approval from Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA). The city-state requires every autonomous vehicle to pass a safety assessment carried out by the Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research (CETRAN), using tests developed by LTA and CETRAN with input from the Traffic Police.

Waymo already has a presence in Singapore, having set up a corporate entity there earlier this year and joined the country's Steering Committee on Autonomous Vehicles. Singapore has already approved autonomous freight delivery, road-sweeping vehicles, and self-driving buses for airport staff. Motional, a US company majority-owned by Hyundai, ran a robotaxi pilot there in 2016.

Broader international expansion

Alongside Singapore, Waymo has said it will launch in London by the end of 2026, in Tokyo in 2027, and in Munich, Germany, in late 2027 — its first move into the European Union.

Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said Singapore has built one of the safest and most forward-thinking transportation ecosystems in the world.

This year Waymo has also announced new US markets including Nashville, Denver, San Diego, and Las Vegas. The company currently operates around 4,000 vehicles across roughly 15 US cities, though regulatory hurdles and political opposition have kept it out of cities such as New York, Chicago, and Washington, DC.