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Telemetry Report: Waymo Dominates as Autonomous Driving Reaches Commercial Tipping Point

Telemetry’s Industry Insights Report Finds 2025 Marked Breakthrough Year with Robotaxis Scaling Globally and Driverless Trucks Operating on Public Roads


DETROIT, MI – January 14, 2026 – After two decades of development, automated driving

systems are finally starting to achieve meaningful commercial scale, with robotaxi operations delivering hundreds of thousands of paid rides weekly and driverless trucks making daily freight runs on public highways, according to the 2026 ADS Scorecard released today by Telemetry.


The report, which evaluated 21 leading companies developing Level 4 automated driving systems worldwide, found that Waymo maintains a commanding lead with an overall score of 87.9 out of 100. The scorecard assessed companies across eight criteria, including technology readiness, go-to-market strategy, safety, and financial stability.


"2025 marked the commercial tipping point for automated driving systems, two decades after the first DARPA Grand Challenge," stated Sam Abuelsamid, VP of Market Research at Telemetry. "After countless promises over the past decade, multiple companies are now generating real revenue from automated services. Waymo is reaching the early stages of scale, delivering hundreds of thousands of paid rides per week, and Aurora is surpassing 100,000 driverless miles with its trucks. Nvidia’s software stack is now in production with Mercedes-Benz, Kodiak has sold and delivered driverless trucks to a major customer, and others globally are in the early stages of commercial deployment. Entering 2026, the focus shifts to continued proof of safety and how fast the leaders can scale."


Waymo's dominance is evident across five U.S. regions, where the company operates full robotaxi services in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, and Atlanta. The company has expanded beyond its own Waymo One service to partner with Uber, which now operates Waymo fleets in Austin and Atlanta, targeting 20 or more additional markets by 2026.

The report also documents how 2025 marked a pivotal year for autonomous trucking. Aurora launched commercial driver-out operations on the Houston-Dallas corridor in May 2025, later expanding to the Dallas-El Paso route. Aurora-powered trucks now operate on highways 24 hours a day in Texas, while Kodiak has delivered vehicles to Atlas Energy for driverless operations delivering fracking sand to oil and gas fields.

Market Consolidation Accelerates

The market consolidation has been dramatic, with most startups, legacy automakers, and suppliers having withdrawn from Level 4 development. General Motors and Ford have shifted focus toward Level 3 systems for consumer vehicles, while suppliers like Bosch and Aumovio now partner with leading ADS developers to industrialize the necessary hardware.

"The ADS market has undergone brutal natural selection," Abuelsamid said. "The companies that survived aren't just the best funded, but the ones with viable technology, clear go-to-market strategies, and strong partnerships."

Technology Evolution Drives Progress

A key finding is the industry-wide shift to AV 2.0, with companies transitioning to fully AI-based software stacks for perception, prediction, and motion planning. This represents the most significant architectural change since development began, moving away from rules-based programming to systems that can better generalize to new scenarios.

"The industry's shift to AV 2.0 represents a fundamental reimagining of how autonomous systems process and respond to their environments," Abuelsamid noted. "This is the foundation enabling current commercial deployments, but it still requires a hefty dose of safety backup."

Nvidia emerged as a unique player, serving as both a supplier to nearly all other companies and a developer of its own complete ADS through its Hyperion Drive platform. Mercedes-Benz became the first automaker to deploy the full Nvidia stack, launching L2++ capability on the 2026 CLA with plans for L3 and L4 in the coming years.

Global Competition Intensifies

Chinese competitors are gaining ground. Baidu now operates its Apollo Go robotaxi service, delivering 250,000 rides per week across multiple Chinese cities. The company claims to offer vehicles equipped with its sixth-generation technology for $28,000, a 60% cost reduction. Baidu is targeting breakeven on Wuhan operations and has announced international expansion, including partnerships in Abu Dhabi and Switzerland.

Trucking Emerges as Viable Use Case

Long-haul trucking offers compelling economics, with predictable routes, driver shortages, and the potential for around-the-clock operations. Aurora has partnerships with Paccar and Volvo Group, developing AV-ready platforms. Kodiak's vehicle-agnostic approach offers kits for factory installation or third-party upfitters. Plus has relationships with Volkswagen's Traton Group, Iveco, and Hyundai.


Challenges Remain

Despite progress, Level 4 systems remain limited to specific operational design domains. Weather conditions, complex urban environments, and edge cases continue to pose challenges to advanced systems. True Level 5 capability — operation anywhere in all conditions — remains unlikely in the next decade.

"While the progress is remarkable, we're still years away from widespread deployment," Abuelsamid said. "The leaders are focusing on specific use cases where economics and operational design domains are manageable. 2028 and beyond will bring hands-off/eyes-off conditional automation to growing numbers of consumer vehicles while full L4 automation will likely follow by the early-2030s."

The 2026 ADS Scorecard evaluated 21 companies, including Aurora, Autonomous A2Z, AvRide, Baidu, Einride, Gatik, Kodiak, May Mobility, Mobileye, Momenta, Motional, Nuro, Nvidia, Plus, Pony.ai, Tesla, Torc Robotics, Waymo, Wayve, WeRide, and Zoox.



About Telemetry

Telemetry is a Detroit-based specialized agency serving the automotive, mobility, and transportation industries. Founded in 2020, the firm delivers editorial-grade content, strategic communications, and market intelligence that help brands connect with their audiences. With a network of 80+ automotive journalists, analysts, and industry experts, Telemetry combines data-driven insights with authentic storytelling to serve leading financial services, automotive retail, and publishing companies. For more information, visit www.telemetryagency.com.

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