Waymo to bring autonomous ride-hailing to Singapore in 2028

SINGAPORE, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit Waymo will roll out its autonomous all-electric ride-hailing service in Singapore by 2028, Waymo announced on Friday, marking its first entry into Southeast Asia.

• Waymo said an initial fleet of all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles will arrive in Singapore in the coming months.

• In 2027, trained autonomous specialists will conduct initial manual driving to accustom the Waymo Driver to local road geometry and monsoon weather patterns.

• Waymo expects the public launch to be in 2028.

• Waymo is working with the Singapore transport ministry and the Land Transport Authority to bring its services into Singapore.

• Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow said, “Singapore welcomes Waymo’s entry as our newest autonomous vehicle operator. Waymo brings world-class technology and operational expertise to Singapore, and will move us towards our vision of creating new transport options for Singaporeans.”

• This week, Waymo also announced it was aiming to launch ‌Japan’s first fully autonomous commercial taxi service in Tokyo in 2027.

• Waymo, which was valued ​at $126 billion in February when it ​raised $16 billion, has been growing its robotaxi ⁠fleet as it competes with Amazon’s Zoox ​and Tesla in the self-driving vehicle market.

(Reporting by Xinghui Kok; Editing by David Stanway )