Overview
- Waymo announced Tuesday that it will begin mapping and manually driven test runs in Munich in the coming weeks and aims to open a public, driverless robotaxi service by the end of 2027.
- The company will start with a small fleet of upgraded Jaguar I‑Pace electric vehicles that have steering and pedals for use during testing and that Waymo says will operate first in a limited set of city districts.
- Formal authorization for fully driverless operation has not yet been granted and Waymo is coordinating with the Kraftfahrt‑Bundesamt and local and regional authorities to obtain the necessary permits.
- Waymo points to its U.S. record — more than 350 million autonomous kilometres and over 20 million paid rides — and reports lower accident rates versus human drivers but those safety claims have not been independently verified for Germany.
- The launch makes Munich Waymo’s first planned deployment on the European mainland and raises near‑term issues to watch including effects on taxis and public transit, local resident reaction during road mapping, and how quickly regulators approve driverless service.