Autonomous mobility is taking another big step forward as Wayve, Uber and Nissan Motor Corporation have announced a partnership to introduce a robotaxi pilot project in Tokyo by late 2026. The collaboration aims to bring together artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and ride-hailing services to test self-driving taxis in real city conditions.
Under this agreement, Nissan will supply its electric vehicles, expected to be based on the Nissan Leaf, while Wayve will provide its advanced AI-based autonomous driving software. Uber will integrate these robotaxis into its ride-hailing platform so that customers can book autonomous rides through its existing app ecosystem.
During the initial phase of the pilot, the robotaxis will operate with trained safety operators inside the vehicles to monitor performance and ensure passenger safety. This supervised testing phase will allow the companies to gather real-world driving data and further improve the autonomous technology before any fully driverless deployment.
Tokyo has been selected for this pilot because of its dense traffic, complex road systems and strict safety requirements. Successfully operating robotaxis in such a challenging urban environment could help the companies demonstrate the reliability and scalability of their self-driving solutions.
The partnership is also part of Uber and Wayve’s broader global robotaxi strategy, which includes plans to expand autonomous ride services to more than ten cities worldwide in the coming years. The Tokyo project represents Uber’s first autonomous vehicle partnership in Japan and highlights the country’s importance in future mobility innovation.
Overall, this collaboration shows the growing momentum of the robotaxi industry as technology and automotive companies continue investing in autonomous transportation. If the Tokyo pilot proves successful, it could pave the way for wider commercial deployment of robotaxi services and support the future of smart urban mobility.
