Alphabet's Waymo Hopes To Bring🤖 Robo-Taxi Service To Europe

Alphabet Inc's self-driving unit Waymo wants to bring its robo-taxi service to Europe after it launches in the United States later this year. Waymo's Chief Executive John Krafcik said the company could enter European markets in collaboration with a partner, but did not give any timeframe. Waymo will use vehicles made by Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and Jaguar Land Rover in its autonomous fleet in the United States, but Krafcik did not signal if either would be potential partners for services in Europe.

"There is an opportunity for us at Waymo to experiment here in Europe, with different products and maybe even with different go-to-market strategies," Krafcik said at the Automotive News Europe Congress in Turin late on Wednesday. "It's possible we will take a very different approach here than we would in the U.S."

Company officials had been spending time in Europe to better understand regulatory, policy and other differences with the United States, he said.

The company is set to launch its ride-hailing service in certain areas of Phoenix, Arizona in coming months, with plans to subsequently roll out the program more widely in the United States.

"The world keeps saying that self-driving cars are coming soon. We are doing this, today, in Phoenix, driving without humans in the front row," Krafcik said. "Sometimes I feel like the world hasn't quite reckoned with that thought."