SINGAPORE, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Alphabet’s autonomous driving unit Waymo will roll out its autonomous all-electric ride-hailing service in Singapore by 2028, Waymo announced on Friday, marking its first entry into Southeast Asia.
• Waymo said an initial fleet of all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles will arrive in Singapore in the coming months.
• In 2027, trained autonomous specialists will conduct initial manual driving to accustom the Waymo Driver to local road geometry and monsoon weather patterns.
• Waymo expects the public launch to be in 2028.
• Waymo is working with the Singapore transport ministry and the Land Transport Authority to bring its services into Singapore.
• Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow said, “Singapore welcomes Waymo’s entry as our newest autonomous vehicle operator. Waymo brings world-class technology and operational expertise to Singapore, and will move us towards our vision of creating new transport options for Singaporeans.”
• This week, Waymo also announced it was aiming to launch Japan’s first fully autonomous commercial taxi service in Tokyo in 2027.
• Waymo, which was valued at $126 billion in February when it raised $16 billion, has been growing its robotaxi fleet as it competes with Amazon’s Zoox and Tesla in the self-driving vehicle market.
(Reporting by Xinghui Kok; Editing by David Stanway )
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