Waymo has named Singapore as the next city where it intends to run a commercial robotaxi operation, with the Alphabet-owned company aiming to begin paid, fully autonomous ride-hailing there in 2028. The announcement extends Waymo’s international ambitions into a market that has spent years building a regulatory and testing framework for autonomous vehicles.
Vehicles Headed to Singapore in Coming Months
The company‘s cars are expected to arrive in Singapore within the coming months, according to the plan. Mapping work and autonomous testing with human safety drivers are scheduled for 2027. If those stages proceed as intended, Waymo wants to open fully autonomous ride-hailing to the public in 2028.
Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana framed Singapore’s transportation ecosystem as a strong fit for the company’s technology and service model. Her comments point to the city-state’s existing AV infrastructure and its approach to regulating self-driving systems as reasons the market stands out.
Regulatory Approvals Still Required
Before any passenger can hail a Waymo in Singapore, the company must secure approval from the Land Transport Authority. The LTA also requires autonomous vehicles to complete a safety assessment at the Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research, known as CETRAN, before they can be deployed on public roads.
Those tests are developed by the LTA and CETRAN with input from the Singapore Traffic Police. Waymo has already taken a formal role in the country’s AV governance: the company established a corporate entity in Singapore earlier this year and participates in Singapore’s Steering Committee on Autonomous Vehicles.
Singapore's AV Testing Landscape
Singapore has approved several categories of autonomous vehicles beyond passenger robotaxis. These include autonomous freight delivery vehicles, self-driving road-sweepers and autonomous buses used to move airport workers. The city-state also hosted an earlier robotaxi pilot in 2016, run by Motional, the US company majority owned by Hyundai.
That history gives Waymo a market with established testing pathways, but it does not remove the need for the LTA and CETRAN approvals that stand between testing and commercial passenger service.
A Broader International Push
Singapore is not the only overseas market on Waymo’s roadmap. The company plans a robotaxi service in London by the end of 2026, followed by Tokyo in 2027 and Munich in late 2027. Munich would mark Waymo’s first expansion into the European Union.
In the United States, Waymo announced Nashville, Denver, San Diego and Las Vegas as new markets this year. The company operates roughly 4,000 vehicles across about 15 US cities. At the same time, regulatory and political obstacles have kept it out of New York City, Chicago and Washington, DC.
What Comes Next
Waymo’s Singapore timeline depends on clearing each stage: vehicle arrival, mapping, supervised testing and regulatory sign-off. The company has set 2028 as the year it hopes to carry passengers without a human safety driver, but the LTA’s approval process and the CETRAN safety assessment remain prerequisites before that service can open to the public.
