Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet (GOOGL.US), is scheduled to enter Singapore in 2028 to open up a new battleground for driverless cars

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Waymo plans to launch its Robotaxi service in Singapore in 2028. This is the latest example in a series of expansion actions by the Alphabet (GOOGL.US) subsidiary in the US and overseas.

Waymo said it will launch a Jaguar I-PACE electric vehicle fleet in the next few months in the Asian city-country. The company said in a statement on Thursday evening US time that starting next year, its trained professionals will manually drive these vehicles to draw maps and learn about Singapore's road conditions and monsoon weather patterns.

Waymo already provides paid services in 15 US cities and is preparing to launch overseas, including London, Tokyo, and Germany. The company has also registered operators in France, the Netherlands, and Spain, but has yet to announce a business plan. It recently launched paid passenger transfers in several markets, including Las Vegas this week, and Denver, San Diego, and Tampa, Florida earlier this month.

When services open to the Singaporean public in 2028, Waymo plans to provide vehicle services through its own consumer app. This differs from the approach of Chinese rivals such as Wenyuan Zhixing and Little Pony Zhixing, which have launched small-scale services in Singapore through partnerships with local online car-hailing platforms such as Grab Holdings Ltd. and ComfortDelGro Corp Ltd.

It is currently unclear whether Waymo will operate limited routes similar to those offered by other Robotaxi service providers in Singapore. Waymo said in a statement that its services will complement the market's public transportation network by connecting “the 'first kilometer and last mile' travel breakpoints between residential areas and commercial hubs.”

A Waymo spokesperson said the company plans to manually map all areas of Singapore and gather the necessary data to apply for approval from the Singapore Land Transport Authority for an autonomous driving system in 2027.