Waymo will begin testing its electric autonomous taxis in the Community of Madrid and plans to offer commercial driverless rides during 2027. The initial tests will include vehicles with personnel at the wheel.
Waymo, the autonomous driving company of the Alphabet group, has confirmed that Madrid will be the starting point for introducing its robotaxis in Spain. According to Somos Eléctricos, the company will start testing its electric vehicles in the Community of Madrid and aims to offer the first commercial driverless rides during 2027.
The first units will be on the road in the coming days, although initially, they will have safety drivers. The tests will take place in Madrid city, Alcobendas, and Getafe, both day and night, to study Spanish urban traffic. The cars will be Jaguar I-PACE equipped with the Waymo Driver system.
The deployment will have three phases. The first is manual driving, with specialists driving around to study roads and traffic behaviour. The second is supervised autonomous driving, with specialised personnel at the wheel. The third is fully autonomous service, which will only start once validations and regulatory requirements are completed.
The company is working with national, regional, and municipal authorities to adapt its operations to regulations. It will also collaborate with emergency services to ensure they know how to respond to incidents. The project is part of the automated vehicle testing procedures of the General Directorate of Traffic.
Waymo claims to have surpassed 20 million paid rides and conducts over 500,000 commercial trips each week, primarily in the United States. Its data indicates over 400 million kilometres driven completely autonomously and a 95% reduction in serious or fatal accidents compared to human drivers in the cities where it operates. The company itself warns that these figures correspond to its current operations and do not guarantee the same results on Spanish roads.
There is still no specific date for commercial launch or pricing. Waymo is also seeking agreements with local companies and partners to establish the maintenance and management infrastructure for its future fleet. WeRide and Uber are also advancing in autonomous mobility projects in Spain.
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