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Australians may soon get a local taste of driverless taxi rides from Google's autonomous spin-off in the back of Geely SUVs from China, provided they get the green light.
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Driverless taxis from Google's autonomous vehicle spin-off Waymo could come to Australia with the help of growing Chinese car maker Geely, a new report has claimed.
It could beat Tesla to the punch in offering ride-hailing services without a human behind the wheel in Australia, if it is successful in lobbying regulators for approval to test autonomous cars on local roads.
The Australian Financial Review reports Waymo and its parent company, Google owner Alphabet, are "accelerat[ing] plans to launch a robotaxi business in Australia as early as this year".
It has reportedly held "discussions" with "a number of" electric-car makers locally, including Geely, citing "two people familiar with the plans", as well as with the NSW Government.
The US firm is also reportedly searching for office space in Sydney, according to the news outlet.
Australia would be among the first international markets for Waymo, which operates driverless taxis in the US states of Arizona, California, Florida, Texas, and Georgia, and plans to expand to the right-hand-drive UK market in 2026.
It is also testing its technology in Tokyo, Japan, but has yet to announce when it will begin accepting passengers.
A barrier standing in the way of an Australian rollout, however, is acquiring the necessary permits and approvals to test autonomous vehicles on public roads.
Tesla launched its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software locally last year, but to allow it to be used, the driver is required to pay attention to the road ahead, and retain legal responsibility for the system's actions.
The AFR reports that Waymo has not lodged an application to allow testing of autonomous vehicles in NSW.
The same applies to Tesla, which operates 'robotaxis' in Austin and San Francisco, powered by an 'unsupervised' version of its Full Self-Driving software – but hasn't taken them global – and is also preparing to launch a standalone Cybercab autonomous taxi in the US this year.
NSW's trial approval system is said to be more lenient than that of Victoria, which requires greater supervision of vehicles during testing, the AFR reports.
The Federal Government is currently working on national regulations for the operation, testing, and sale of autonomous vehicles, which are rated in levels up to five.
Waymo taxis are considered Level 4, as they can drive themselves without human input in a defined area, but cannot operate on roads outside their permitted zone.
Tesla Full Self-Driving Supervised is Level 2 – as the driver is still legally in control – while a Level 5 autonomous car can drive itself in all conditions, and never requires intervention.
Waymo has appointed Andrew Cox, a former Liberal Party staffer now employed by advisory firm GRA Cosway, to lobby governments to allow autonomous car testing, the AFR reports.
Geely is a natural fit for Waymo, as the US firm already has a partnership with the Chinese giant's Zeekr brand to develop a standalone ride-sharing vehicle, known as the Ojai.
A Zeekr spokesperson reportedly declined to comment to the AFR when asked if the deal could be matched locally.
Waymo uses Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicles for many of its autonomous taxi operations in the US – a vehicle now out of production as part of the reboot of the Jaguar brand – and has signed a deal with Hyundai to use Ioniq 5 electric cars.
The company – which uses lidar and radar technology on its vehicles that Tesla has abandoned in favour of cameras only – is said to operate more than 25,000 robotaxis in the US completing 450,000 paid rides per week, the AFR reports.
Drive has contacted Waymo for comment on the report, and will update this story once a response is received.
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
