Waymo has announced plans to launch its driverless ride-hailing service in London in 2026, marking its first expansion into Europe.
The rollout will begin with a testing phase in the coming months, during which a fleet of electric Jaguar I-Pace vehicles will navigate London’s busy streets with safety drivers onboard.
The California-based company says the tests will cover a 100-square-mile area of London and will focus on adapting its self-driving systems to the city’s complex road layouts, traffic patterns, and diverse weather conditions. Waymo has partnered with Moove, a UK-based mobility firm backed by Uber, to manage and maintain its local fleet.
Once government approval is secured, the company intends to begin offering paid rides through its own Waymo One app — similar to its operations in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and several other U.S. cities.
Waymo’s expansion follows more than a decade of testing and millions of commercial rides in the United States. The company says its driverless vehicles have provided over 10 million paid rides and driven more than 100 million autonomous miles on public roads. According to Waymo, its cars are involved in five times fewer injury-causing crashes than those driven by humans.
Tekedra Mawakana, Waymo’s CEO, said the company is “thrilled to bring the reliability, safety, and magic of Waymo to Londoners.” She added, “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’s entry into London will put it in direct competition with Uber, which plans to launch its own self-driving taxis in partnership with British AI firm Wayve in 2026. Both companies are preparing for the UK’s Autonomous Vehicles Act, which will allow limited commercial AV pilots starting next year.
