EVwire brief: Waymo just announced Munich as its next city. Over the next few weeks, the company's vehicles will begin driving manually through the Bavarian capital as it maps local roads and runs calibration tests with trained safety operators. The goal is to have a working ride-hailing service by late 2027.
The company brings a deep track record to Europe. Waymo has logged over 20 million autonomous trips in the United States and currently handles hundreds of thousands of paid rides a week across its American cities.
Here's co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana:
"Munich is a world-class hub for mobility and engineering, and becoming part of this city marks an important milestone in our global expansion. [...] We look forward to investing in local fleet operations, creating high-skilled jobs, and delivering a safe, reliable service for residents and visitors alike."
The rollout will follow Waymo's usual city-entry playbook: detailed street mapping first, then test runs with trained safety operators to calibrate the system for Munich's traffic patterns, then a public launch. Waymo says conversations with German officials at every level of government are already underway to sort out the regulatory path.
Christian Hirte, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Transport, framed the announcement as proof that the country's legal framework for autonomous vehicles is doing what it was designed to do.
"Waymo, the world's leading provider of commercial robotaxi services, has now recognised Germany's potential as a location offering legal certainty. [...] The fact that a company like Waymo is looking to Germany highlights how attractive our market is and proves that regular autonomous mobility services can work here."
Ben Loewenstein, Head of Policy and Government Affairs, UK & Europe at Waymo, highlighted that Waymo is hard at work meeting the regulatory requirements in Germany.
Context:
Waymo is not just growing its footprint. It is also overhauling the tech behind its rides. The company recently unveiled the Ojai, its next-generation robotaxi built around a custom 5nm chip that handles over 1,000 TOPS of processing power.
Waymo’s sixth-generation Driver system pulls data from 13 cameras, six radar units, and four lidar sensors, all while cutting total sensor count by 40% compared to the previous generation. Google's Gemini AI is now available inside the cabin for trip info and media controls, though it stays completely separate from the driving system.
Source: Waymo
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