Waymo says it will launch a robotaxi service in Singapore in 2028, as the Alphabet-owned company continues to eye overseas markets for expansion.
Waymo’s vehicles will begin arriving in Singapore in “the coming months,” the company says, in preparation of mapping and autonomous testing with human safety drivers behind the wheel in 2027. Waymo says it is “working toward offering fully autonomous ride-hailing to the public” by 2028.
Waymo will need approval from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) before it can begin accepting passengers. The city-state requires all autonomous vehicles to undergo a safety assessment conducted at the Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research (CETRAN) before they can be deployed on public roads. The tests have been developed by LTA and CETRAN, with input from the Traffic Police. But Waymo isn’t totally unknown in Singapore. The company established a corporate entity there earlier this year and participates in Singapore’s Steering Committee on Autonomous Vehicles.
Singapore has become a hotbed for autonomous vehicle testing. The local authorities have green-lit autonomous freight delivery and road-sweepers, as well as self-driving buses for airport workers. Motional, a US-based company majority owned by Hyundai, conducted a robotaxi pilot in Singapore in 2016.
In addition to Singapore, Waymo has said it plans on launching a robotaxi service in London by the end of 2026, and Tokyo in 2027. The company has also said it will bring its robotaxis to Munich, Germany, in late 2027, marking its first expansion in the European Union.
“Singapore has built one of the safest, most efficient, and most forward-thinking transportation ecosystems in the world,” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a statement. “Their focus on reliability, sustainability, and human-centric progress directly mirrors how we have built Waymo’s technology and service.”
This year, Waymo has announced several new domestic markets, including Nashville, Denver, San Diego, and Las Vegas. The company has around 4,000 vehicles operating in about 15 US cities.
But regulatory hurdles and political opposition have kept it out of some of the US’ most important cities, including New York City, Chicago, and Washington, DC. As the robotaxi debate continues to rage on in America, Waymo has signaled that it intends to keep growing overseas — with no signs of slowing down.