Waymo is laying the groundwork for our fully autonomous ride hailing service in Munich, Germany. With over 20 million trips completed and hundreds of thousands of commercial rides served each week, we are now bringing our fully autonomous driving technology to one of the world’s premier hubs for automotive engineering and urban mobility.
In the coming weeks, you’ll start to see Waymo vehicles on the streets of Munich where we’ll begin driving manually across the city. We are taking a rigorous, phased approach that starts with high-definition mapping of local street networks and testing with trained autonomous specialists behind the wheel. This validation period will ensure the Waymo Driver adapts seamlessly to Munich’s distinct driving conditions before we aim to open commercial ride-hailing to the public towards the end of 2027.
Munich is a world-class hub for mobility and engineering, and becoming part of this city marks an important milestone in our global expansion,
said Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana. “As we prepare to launch, earning the community’s trust is our top priority. We look forward to investing in local fleet operations, creating high-skilled jobs, and delivering a safe, reliable service for residents and visitors alike.”
“Autonomous driving is the key to the mobility of the future. We aim to make Germany a global leader in autonomous driving innovation and manufacturing. We have already put in place the legal framework for this. Waymo, the world’s leading provider of commercial robotaxi services, has now recognised Germany’s potential as a location offering legal certainty. It is currently planning to start regular commercial operation of autonomous vehicles on the German market for the first time. The fact that a company like Waymo is looking to Germany highlights how attractive our market is and proves that regular autonomous mobility services can work here. We must now leverage the strengths of our economy and develop autonomous mobility solutions from within Europe. Our goal must be to ensure that we in Europe not only use these technologies but also develop and operate them here. After all, autonomous driving makes a tangible contribution to improving everyone’s quality of life – across all age groups, circumstances and regions,” said Christian Hirte, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Transport.
“Autonomous driving is a key technology for the future of mobility and for the transformation of our automotive industry. Bavaria is determined to live up to its pioneering role and be an international leader in autonomous driving. We have the best possible conditions to achieve this, with strong automotive manufacturers and suppliers, cutting-edge research, innovative start-ups and a powerful AI ecosystem that we are specifically strengthening through our Hightech Agenda,” said Dr. Florian Herrmann, Head of the Bavarian State Chancellery. “The fact that Waymo has chosen Munich to enter the German market and establish its autonomous ride-hailing service underscores Bavaria’s reputation as a leading high-tech location. Now we need to move quickly from testing to real-world deployment. To achieve this, we will continue to improve the framework conditions, cut red tape and remove regulatory barriers.”
Germany has always shaped the future of mobility—from world-class automotive engineering to ambitious goals for safer roads. As we begin operations in Munich, safety and collaboration will remain at the centre of our work. We are already engaging with local, state and federal officials on the regulatory approvals and steps needed to responsibly serve the public in Germany. We’re excited to show how Waymo can complement the public transport, cycling and pedestrian networks that people in Munich and across Germany rely on every day.
“Reliable mobility is essential for blind and visually impaired people. The upcoming launch of Waymo in Germany is an exciting step toward safer mobility options while helping to address some of the barriers guide dog users face with traditional taxi and ride-hailing services. We are very excited about the independence that autonomous vehicles will bring to our community,” said Maik Schubert, CEO of the Schubert & Wetzel Guide Dog School.
We share Munich’s vision of sustainable, integrated urban mobility that fosters safer streets and enhances accessibility. Data from over 350 million fully autonomous kilometres shows that we’re improving road safety in the communities we serve today, with 16x fewer serious injury crashes compared to human drivers, as well as 14x fewer pedestrian crashes with injury and 6x fewer cyclist crashes with injury.
We can’t wait for residents and visitors in Munich to discover the magic of Waymo.
( https://waymo.com/blog/2026/08/waymo-in-munich/ )
