Waymo Targets Madrid Riders in 2027, With Manual Testing First
Waymo aims to welcome its first riders in the Madrid region in 2027. Its October 20, 2026 announcement says electric Jaguar I-Pace vehicles will appear on local roads in the coming days, beginning with manual driving—not an immediate driverless passenger service.
Where testing is planned
The company’s Spain information page names Madrid City, Alcobendas and Getafe among the initial areas. It says testing can take place day and night under Directorate-General for Traffic guidelines and other applicable rules.
The planned sequence is manual driving, autonomous validation with trained local safety drivers behind the wheel, then fully autonomous operation. Waymo says commercial rides are not yet available and that it is working with authorities to obtain the required permits.
It is also preparing local operations and familiarising emergency services with the technology. Those are steps toward deployment; they should not be read as confirmation that every future operating permission has been granted.
What residents and prospective riders can take from this
Seeing a sensor-equipped vehicle is not enough to establish whether it is being driven manually, validating software or carrying paying passengers. The phase of operation matters more than the vehicle’s appearance.
Likewise, a test location is not a guaranteed future pickup area. Until the passenger-service boundaries, opening date and booking conditions are confirmed, residents should treat the 2027 timing as a company target rather than a transport option they can plan around today.
The expansion should be judged against local operating evidence as it develops. Performance in a different city does not, by itself, establish how a system will handle Madrid’s particular junctions, road users and traffic rules. Chiefs Review has not ridden in or independently evaluated these planned test vehicles.
The Spanish plan is separate from Waymo’s Toronto project, which targets riders in 2028. Each market has its own preparation and approval process.
Illustrative archive photograph: a Waymo Jaguar I-Pace at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, August 22, 2024—not a Madrid test vehicle. Photo: TaurusEmerald / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. The photograph is used under that license.
