Waymo teams up with Renault, Nissan on robotaxis outside US

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Self-driving car pioneer Waymo is teaming up with automakers Renault and Nissan to make its first journey outside the U.S. with a ride-hailing service that will dispatch a fleet of robotaxis in France and Japan.

The partnership announced late Wednesday underscores Waymo’s ambition to deploy its driverless technology throughout the world. The Mountain View, California, company can afford to try because it’s backed by one of the world’s richest companies, Google, which secretly began working on driverless technology a decade ago before spinning off that project into what is now known as Waymo.

After launching its ride-hailing service in France and Japan, Waymo intends to explore a wide range of other European and Asian markets with Renault and Nissan.