Toyota Motor and Waymo, the autonomous driving tech company owned by Google-parent Alphabet, have announced a preliminary agreement to explore a partnership in autonomous vehicle development. According to an official blog post by Waymo, the collaboration aims to create a new self-driving vehicle platform while also improving next-generation personally owned vehicles (POVs).  

Under the proposed deal, Toyota will build the autonomous vehicle platform, which will be used in Waymo's driverless ride-hailing fleet. The companies will also explore integrating Waymo's self-driving technology into Toyota's consumer vehicles. Toyota's software division, Woven by Toyota, will participate in the partnership, says the blog post.  

Waymo, which already operates autonomous taxis in several US cities, sees the partnership as a way to expand its technology beyond ride-hailing. The companies did not provide a timeline for the collaboration but stated that discussions will continue to define the scope of their partnership. No financial terms or specific vehicle models were disclosed in the announcement.

Waymo has previously partnered with automakers like Hyundai and Zeekr, as well as Uber, to expand its autonomous vehicle ecosystem. Meanwhile, Toyota has been advancing its own automated driving research, including its Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) technology.  

The announcement comes as Waymo continues testing in Tokyo, gathering data on local driving conditions. Toyota's Woven by Toyota is also developing an automotive software platform and testing mobility solutions at its Woven City facility in Japan.