Waymo, owned by Google’s parent Alphabet, is preparing to launch its driverless ride-hailing service in Spain, with plans to carry its first passengers in the Region of Madrid in 2027.
The autonomous vehicle company said testing will start in the coming days, using electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles across Madrid’s metropolitan network.
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Waymo will begin with manually driven operations before moving to technical validation.
Locally trained autonomous vehicle specialists will supervise this work as the company calibrates its Waymo Driver system for Madrid’s traffic patterns and infrastructure.
Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said: “We’re proud to bring Waymo to Spain, beginning with the Region of Madrid. We share the region’s commitment to safer, more accessible, and zero-emission mobility, and we look forward to serving as a collaborative partner in achieving those goals.”
Ahead of commercial operations, Waymo is consulting national, regional, and local authorities in Spain.
It is also holding technical briefings with emergency response personnel.
The company said it is working with commercial partners in Spain and investing in regional operational infrastructure to comply with national and regional transport regulations.
Spanish Road Safety Foundation president Ignacio Lijarcio added: “The arrival of new autonomous mobility solutions in Spain should allow us to move forward, with rigor and confidence, toward a mobility model that is increasingly safe, accessible, and centred on people.”
The Madrid announcement follows other market plans outlined by the company.
Last month, Waymo said it would introduce its all-electric, driverless ride-hailing service in Singapore in 2028, its first move into Southeast Asia.
During the same month, Waymo announced plans to launch commercial Level 4 autonomous robotaxi services in Japan in 2027 with Nihon Kotsu, Tokyo’s largest taxi company, and Go, the country’s leading ride-hailing platform.
In August, Waymo began preparations for a driverless ride-hailing service in Munich, Germany, marking its entry into the European Union.
