Toyota and Waymo Form Partnership to Provide Self-Driving Cars to Individual Owners

What Happened?

On Tuesday, Toyota and Alphabet owned Waymo issued a press release announcing a new partnership designed to explore ways to sell self-driving vehicles to individual owners. Toyota’s CEO said, ‘the strategic partnership could result in Waymo’s incorporating Toyota vehicles into their ride sharing fleet.’

A spokesperson for Waymo said, ‘the deal will leverage our self-driving car technology with Toyota’s expertise for personally owned vehicles.’ In a joint statement, both companies said the partnership is intended to more quickly find ways to develop driver assistance and autonomous vehicles technology for personal vehicles. 

Why it Matters

Toyota is the world’s largest manufacturer of automobiles, and Waymo is the leading provider of autonomous ride sharing vehicles in the United States. During the past decade, Toyota’s Research Institute has focused considerable resources on the exploration and development of self-driving vehicles. So, the partnership makes sense because the two companies share an interest in autonomous driving technology and a similar philosophy for how it should be used.

Hiroki Nakajima, Executive Vice President for Toyota, said, ‘Toyota is committed to realizing a society with zero traffic accidents and becoming a mobility company that delivers mobility for all.’ Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, added ‘Waymo's mission is to be the world's most trusted driver. This requires global partners like Toyota that share our commitment to improving road safety and expanding accessible transportation.’

The regulatory environment in the United States remains a patchwork of differing state laws which could prove to be an obstacle to private ownership. Twenty-five states have passed legislation regulating autonomous vehicles, though only a few of those allow fully autonomous vehicles to be operated on public highways. Many states allow self-driving vehicles for testing but only on certain roads and under a long list of restrictive conditions. 

Changing demographics could pressure lawmakers to make self-driving cars legal for private ownership in the United States. Many young people today do not have driver’s licenses and would find self-driving cars appealing for personal transportation. As America’s median age continues to rise, an increasing number of elderly individuals who are unable to operate a standard vehicle might find autonomous cars to be a solution to personal mobility problems.

The partnership between Toyota and Waymo is an indication that a wider availability and adoption of autonomous vehicles in the future seems more likely than ever.

How it Affects You

The widespread adoption of self-driving vehicles poses risks but also potential benefits for consumers. Commuters using self-driving vehicles could use the time in the car for work or entertainment instead of being focused solely on driving. But with the wider adoption of self-driving vehicles, a number of safety and liability issues remain unsolved, such as who is responsible when a human is injured or killed by an autonomous vehicle.