(Reuters) - Alphabet's Waymo said on Thursday it will expand its autonomous ride-hailing services to Miami, Florida, adding another city to its operations as it seeks to gain an edge in an increasingly competitive market.

The company plans to introduce its vehicles to Miami's streets early next year and aims to launch services to riders in 2026, offering ride-hailing through the Waymo One app.

Waymo's expansion comes at a crucial time as the firm is under intense scrutiny from safety regulators following multiple incidents involving autonomous driving technology.

Intense competition in the autonomous vehicle market, particularly from General Motors' Cruise, Amazon's Zoox and newcomer Tesla presents a significant challenge to Waymo's efforts to establish and maintain market dominance in the rapidly evolving self-driving technology sector.

Miami will join Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Austin as cities in which Waymo operates.

Waymo also announced a partnership with vehicle financing firm Moove under which the startup will manage Waymo's fleet operations, facilities and charging infrastructure, starting in Phoenix, Arizona.

Last month, the company opened its ride-hailing services to everyone in Los Angeles, and in Oct. it closed a $5.6 billion funding round led by Alphabet.