Waymo opens cheaper Ojai robotaxi to riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco

● 8 hours ago

Waymo has opened its next-generation Ojai robotaxi to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. The Alphabet company plans to expand to Denver, Las Vegas, and San Diego later this year.

Waymo currently has about 300 Ojai robotaxis in its commercial fleet. The vehicles, manufactured by China's Zeekr, are equipped with Waymo's sixth-generation self-driving system and Google's Gemini AI assistant.

The Ojai is designed to be cheaper to build, operate, and maintain than Waymo's existing Jaguar I-Pace fleet. However, steep US import tariffs on Chinese-built vehicles have added costs. The vehicles arrive without Chinese connected-car technology and are outfitted with self-driving systems at Waymo's Arizona factory.

Research firm MoffettNathanson projects Waymo will import 5,000 Ojai vehicles by end of 2026, more than doubling its current fleet.

Source: techcrunch.com

Waymo

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