Waymo robotaxis are headed to Munich

Waymo 自动驾驶出租车即将进军慕尼黑

Waymo said Tuesday it plans to launch a robotaxi service in Munich, months after the Alphabet-owned autonomous vehicle company set up an entity in Germany. The company still must weave its way through mapping and testing, as well as clear regulatory hurdles before it can launch commercial operations.

Waymo 周二表示，计划在慕尼黑推出自动驾驶出租车服务。此前几个月，这家隶属于 Alphabet 的自动驾驶汽车公司已在德国设立了实体。在正式开展商业运营之前，该公司仍需完成地图绘制和测试工作，并扫清监管障碍。

Waymo will begin, as it has in the other 11 cities where it has commercial robotaxi operations, by first manually driving its vehicles to map the streets of Munich. It will then test its autonomous vehicles with human safety drivers behind the wheel, before removing them. Waymo typically allows its employees, media, and other invited guests to ride in its driverless vehicles at this stage.

正如其在其他 11 个已开展商业化运营的城市所做的那样，Waymo 将首先通过人工驾驶车辆来绘制慕尼黑的街道地图。随后，它将配备人类安全员进行自动驾驶测试，之后再移除安全员。在这一阶段，Waymo 通常会允许其员工、媒体及其他受邀嘉宾乘坐其无人驾驶车辆。

The company will eventually open its robotaxis to limited service, and eventually to all riders once it receives the regulatory approval required to operate commercially. Waymo said in a blog post on Tuesday that it is working with Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), state authorities, and local officials, and expects to open commercial ride-hailing to the public toward the end of 2027.

一旦获得商业运营所需的监管批准，该公司最终将向有限用户开放自动驾驶出租车服务，并最终向所有乘客开放。Waymo 在周二的博客文章中表示，目前正与德国联邦汽车运输管理局 (KBA)、州政府及地方官员合作，预计将于 2027 年底向公众开放商业化网约车服务。

Waymo’s entry into Germany comes more than five years after the country’s lawmakers adopted legislation to allow driverless vehicles on public roads, and in that process making it the first country in the European Union to create a legal framework for Level 4 autonomous driving. Level 4 autonomy is a designation by the Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) that means the self-driving system handles all the driving, with no expectation of a human taking over, in certain conditions or environments.

Waymo 进入德国市场距离该国议员通过允许无人驾驶车辆上路的立法已过去五年多。此举使德国成为欧盟首个为 L4 级自动驾驶建立法律框架的国家。L4 级自动驾驶是美国汽车工程师学会 (SAE) 定义的级别，意味着在特定条件或环境下，自动驾驶系统负责所有驾驶任务，无需人类接管。

This legal framework has made Germany a hotspot for autonomous vehicle testing. Today, several companies, including Mobileye and Volkswagen, hold permits to test their autonomous vehicles in the country, according to the KBA’s latest data. Waymo does not currently have any permits. However, the vast majority, including U.K. self-driving startup Wayve, and Israel-based Autobrains, hold Level 3 permits.

这一法律框架使德国成为了自动驾驶汽车测试的热点地区。根据 KBA 的最新数据，目前包括 Mobileye 和大众汽车在内的多家公司已获得在德国测试自动驾驶汽车的许可。Waymo 目前尚未获得任何许可。不过，绝大多数公司（包括英国自动驾驶初创公司 Wayve 和以色列的 Autobrains）持有的是 L3 级许可。

Level 3, or conditional automated driving, is a system that can handle all the driving within specific operating conditions, such as low speeds on highways, but the driver must be able to take over when needed. Germany isn’t the only overseas hotspot for AV developers. The U.K., especially London, is shaping up as another robotaxi battleground.

L3 级（即有条件自动驾驶）是指在特定运行条件下（如高速公路低速行驶）能够处理所有驾驶任务的系统，但驾驶员必须能够在需要时接管车辆。德国并非自动驾驶开发商唯一的海外热点。英国，尤其是伦敦，正逐渐成为自动驾驶出租车的另一个战场。

Waymo has said it plans to launch a commercial service in London in 2026, which will pit it against Wayve and its partner Uber. Chinese tech giant Baidu has also started testing autonomous vehicles in the city as part of its partnership with Lyft and Freenow.

Waymo 此前表示，计划于 2026 年在伦敦推出商业服务，这将使其与 Wayve 及其合作伙伴 Uber 展开竞争。中国科技巨头百度也已开始在伦敦测试自动驾驶汽车，作为其与 Lyft 和 Freenow 合作的一部分。