Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 to Ride Waymo Into Europe as Robotaxi Footprint Expands — BigGo Finance

The competitive axis of the global autonomous ride-hailing (robotaxi) market is shifting beyond the United States, and Hyundai Motor’s Ioniq 5 is increasingly likely to enter the European market aboard Waymo’s platform. With Hyundai Motor set to begin supplying Ioniq 5-based robotaxis to Waymo starting in the fourth quarter of this year, and Waymo moving aggressively to expand overseas services beginning with Munich, Germany, expectations are mounting that the two companies’ collaboration will extend into global markets.

According to Barron’s and other U.S. financial media on the 27th, Waymo—the autonomous driving subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet—plans to launch a fully autonomous ride-hailing service for the general public in Munich, Germany late next year. Waymo intends to begin pilot operations locally within weeks to build high-definition maps, followed by testing with autonomous driving specialists before launching commercial service.

Waymo has so far expanded its robotaxi business primarily across the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Since commercialization in 2020, the company has operated roughly 3,800 vehicles across approximately 11 cities to establish market leadership, and has recently been pursuing entry into London, Tokyo, and Munich beyond the United States.

As Waymo’s international expansion gains momentum, attention is turning to whether the Ioniq 5-based robotaxis supplied by Hyundai Motor will be deployed overseas. At its 2026 CEO Investor Day held on the 26th, Hyundai Motor announced it would begin supplying Waymo with Ioniq 5-based robotaxis produced at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia starting in the fourth quarter of this year.

Hyundai Motor said this would enable international expansion of robotaxi services as early as 2027. José Muñoz, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor, reiterated after the event via social media that the company is expanding its partnership with Waymo internationally.

The timing of Waymo’s overseas service expansion aligning with Hyundai Motor’s Ioniq 5 supply schedule lends weight to the possibility that the two companies’ collaboration will extend beyond the United States into global markets. For Hyundai Motor, deploying the Ioniq 5 in Waymo’s overseas services would provide a foothold to expand its autonomous driving foundry business globally.

The autonomous driving foundry business leverages Hyundai Motor’s vehicle production capabilities to supply optimized vehicles to companies with Level 4 or higher autonomous driving technology. Waymo is the first partner in Hyundai Motor’s autonomous driving foundry business. Hyundai Motor views Waymo not as a competitor but as an autonomous vehicle foundry partner, aiming to go beyond simply manufacturing and selling vehicles to producing and supplying customized fully autonomous vehicles for Big Tech companies.

Industry observers note that Hyundai Motor can accumulate real-world driving data and operational know-how through the process of supplying vehicles to Waymo. The data and technical experience gained from harsh road environments are expected to create synergies that strengthen Hyundai Motor’s future software-defined vehicle (SDV) production models and internal autonomous driving competitiveness.

Competition for leadership in the global robotaxi market is also heating up. Tesla, widely considered Waymo’s biggest competitor, is rapidly expanding its robotaxi service areas. After launching robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, Tesla recently received approval to operate 5,000 robotaxis in Nevada.

Tesla is also laying the groundwork for a European market entry with its supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology. After Dutch authorities approved the use of Tesla’s FSD functionality in April, some observers suggest this could serve as a bridgehead for expanding robotaxi operations in Europe.

Market analysts project that robotaxis could fundamentally reshape the automotive industry’s profit structure. Andrew Pecora, a Morgan Stanley analyst, valued Tesla’s robotaxi and FSD business at approximately $1 trillion (about 1,380.3 trillion won)—roughly six times the value of its electric vehicle business.

Meanwhile, the streets of San Francisco have already become a competitive arena for next-generation autonomous vehicles involving global automakers and Big Tech. The Ojai, Waymo’s next-generation robotaxi developed in collaboration with China’s Zeekr, is a purpose-built vehicle (PBV) that eliminates the B-pillar between entry and exit doors and features dual sliding doors. Amazon subsidiary Zoox’s robotaxi—a fully symmetrical box-car design with no driver’s seat, pedals, hood, or even trunk—is also chasing Waymo, with about 20 vehicles in pilot operation in San Francisco following Las Vegas.

However, robotaxis still face challenges to overcome. In a firsthand comparison of Waymo and Uber in San Francisco, a Waymo ride with peak-time surge pricing cost $36.97 (about 51,000 won), while Uber charged $15.85 (about 22,000 won)—less than half. Wait times also differed: Waymo took 16 minutes to arrive after hailing, while Uber took just 5 minutes. In congested areas, a veteran Uber driver nimbly navigated detours and reached the destination in 10 minutes—half the time of Waymo. Human intuition in responding to real-time road conditions remains a challenge that autonomous vehicles have yet to solve.