ANALYSIS Two European capitals are diverging on autonomous vehicles this week, and the split has almost nothing to do with technology. London's robotaxi launch is slipping past its government-set timeline because Transport for London has not published the guidance operators need, while Waymo is already sending vehicles into Munich to begin mapping for a commercial service targeted by the end of 2027. The contrast exposes a widening gap in regulatory readiness that will shape where the global AV industry plants its next flags.
Europe is the next major theater for robotaxi deployment, and the order in which its cities open will set precedents for licensing frameworks, insurance regimes, and public trust. London was supposed to lead. In 2025, transport secretary Heidi Alexander accelerated the proposed timeline for commercial trials of fully driverless taxi services by a year, announcing they would start in the spring of 20263,8. Uber and Wayve were granted the first minicab licences in London. More than 100,000 Londoners signed up for the waiting list. Yet TfL has still not published the guidance that companies must follow to win its approval. No operator has completed even the first stage of the regulatory process: registering vehicles with the Vehicle Certification Agency. No applications for a DVSA permit or TfL consent to operate in London have been received.
Waymo's Munich announcement lands against that backdrop. The company confirmed Munich will get Europe's first regular driverless taxi service, with commercial ride-hailing targeted for the end of 20275,9,10. Vehicles will appear on Munich's streets in the coming weeks for mapping and testing, initially with trained specialists behind the wheel7. Waymo Germany GmbH was registered in the commercial register in June. The company is already in discussions with the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) as well as local and state governments1,13.
"Munich is a world-class hub for mobility and engineering, and becoming part of this city marks an important milestone in our global expansion," said Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana. AutoNext noted that Munich is where BMW is headquartered and where a large part of the German car industry does its thinking.
Munich will be Waymo's third international market after London and Tokyo. The company also announced U.S. expansions this year to San Diego, Las Vegas, Tampa, and Denver. It says it has driven more than 350 million kilometres fully autonomously and completed more than 20 million autonomous rides.
TfL said it "only gives its consent for the permit at the end of the process". No operator has completed the first stage of that process, registering vehicles with the Vehicle Certification Agency, and no applications for a DVSA permit or TfL consent have been received. The Financial Times reported that TfL's delay in producing robotaxi guidance has frustrated prospective operators, who now play down the chances of starting this year. ANALYSIS The result is institutional sequencing that has left operators with no pathway to follow: the process has stalled at step one. Wayve's fleet was described as "ready to go" in June, and the company plans to switch to a new Nissan Leaf vehicle for its fully driverless launch. The technology is not the bottleneck; the regulatory machinery is.
European Business Magazine framed the tension directly: "When does sensible regulation become institutional hesitation?"14. London's complexity as an urban environment, with narrow streets, cyclists, buses, and black cabs, is a legitimate technical challenge. But Waymo is not treating Munich as a simple grid either. Its phased approach starts with manual driving to build high-definition maps, then supervised autonomous testing, and only then commercial operations. ◆ The difference is that Munich's regulatory engagement appears to be running in parallel with technical preparation, while London's is running in sequence, with each step waiting on the last.
Baidu is also facing the same London delays. Waymo, Uber-backed Wayve, and Baidu all face regulatory and technical hurdles in London.
Waymo's Munich mapping vehicles are expected on the streets within weeks. In London, TfL's director of strategy Christina Calderato told the London assembly's transport committee last month that TfL would not be in a position to start accepting applications for some time. Operating taxis without a driver in London requires approval via an automated passenger services permit through the DVSA, and no vehicles have been approved. Waymo is separately working toward launching a fully autonomous service in London by the end of this year.
Germany was the first EU country to create a legal framework for Level 4 autonomous driving, adopting legislation more than five years ago. Several companies, including Mobileye and Volkswagen, already hold permits to test autonomous vehicles in Germany. Waymo does not currently hold any German permits6. Wayve and Autobrains operate under Level 3 permits in Germany.
Waymo raised $16 billion earlier this year at a $126 billion valuation. The company completes more than 500,000 paid trips per week and operates fully driverless ride-hailing in 11 U.S. cities. Its own safety analysis, drawn from more than 217 million miles of fully autonomous driving, claims 16 times fewer serious-injury crashes and 14 times fewer pedestrian crashes causing injury than human drivers.
Uber, Verne, and Pony.ai launched autonomous rides in Zagreb last week, making the Croatian capital the first European city where users could book a self-driving vehicle through Uber's app. That service still has a human driver for onboard monitoring.
Waymo will use exclusively electric vehicles in Munich, with the Jaguar I-PACE expected to handle early validation work. The company plans to invest in local fleet operations and create high-skilled jobs. Waymo will operate across 17 Munich districts, including Altstadt-Lehel, Maxvorstadt, Schwabing-West, and Bogenhausen.
ANALYSIS The two timelines now sit in stark contrast: Munich has a declared end-of-2027 commercial target with regulatory discussions already underway, while London's operators cannot yet say when they will complete the first administrative step. The city that was supposed to lead Europe's robotaxi era is watching from the kerb.