Waymo to launch autonomous ride-hailing in Madrid next year

MADRID, Oct 20 (Reuters) - ‌Waymo, Alphabet's ​autonomous ​driving unit, plans to launch a fully autonomous ride-hailing service in Spain's Madrid ‌region in 2027, its first deployment in the ⁠country, it said on Tuesday.

• Electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles ‌will begin appearing on Madrid ‌streets in the coming days, with trained specialists behind the wheel before autonomous operations begin, ​Waymo said in a statement

• Waymo will operate under Spanish traffic agency DGT's autonomous vehicle ⁠testing framework

• The company said it also aims to launch in ​London this year, Tokyo in 2027 — with Nihon Kotsu and Go pending regulatory approval — ​and Toronto in 2028 with ‌Element Fleet Management

• Its fleet, which already operates in more than 15 US ⁠cities, completes more than 500,000 paid rides per week and has surpassed 20 million cumulative paid rides, Waymo ⁠said

• According to the company, safety data compiled over ​more than 400 million km (249 million miles) of autonomous driving shows 95% fewer crashes involving serious injury or worse when ‌compared with human drivers

• The DGT issued its first national permits for ‌autonomous vehicle testing to WeRide and Uber last ⁠month, with commercial services ‌expected to launch ​in Madrid by the end of this year

(Reporting by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Joe ‌Bavier)

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