Alphabet’s self-driving unit Waymo will launch a fully autonomous, all-electric ride-hailing service in Singapore by 2028, its first market in Southeast Asia.

In a statement on Thursday, Waymo said it is working with Singapore’s Ministry of Transport and Land Transport Authority on the rollout. An initial fleet of Jaguar I-PACE electric cars will arrive in the coming months, followed by a period of manual test-driving in 2027 to map the city and adapt the system to local roads and monsoon weather, before a commercial launch in 2028, subject to approvals.

Waymo, the first company to run a public robotaxi service in the United States, has provided more than 20 million autonomous rides and driven over 300 million kilometers. It reported a 94 percent reduction in injury-causing crashes compared with human drivers in its home markets.

The Land Transport Authority said on Friday that Singapore would help taxi and private-hire drivers prepare for the shift to autonomous vehicles, and “will not allow autonomous vehicle deployment to run ahead of our ability to retrain and support affected drivers.”

Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow welcomed Waymo as Singapore’s newest autonomous-vehicle operator, saying it brought world-class technology and would create new transport options and jobs. Waymo co-chief executive Tekedra Mawakana said the company would listen to the community and complement Singapore’s public-transit network.

Singapore has become a competitive market for self-driving vehicles. Chinese firms WeRide and Pony AI last year partnered with ride-hailing operator Grab and transport group ComfortDelGro to bring robotaxis to the city. Waymo’s Singapore move follows its announcement days earlier of plans to launch in Tokyo in 2027, London, and Munich.

Waymo, valued at $126 billion in a February funding round, competes with Amazon’s Zoox and Tesla in autonomous driving.

Gojek strengthens GoTaxi service in Singapore through expanded partnership with ComfortDelGro