Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD is intensifying its push into the autonomous driving market through its advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) platform "God's Eye," while introducing an aggressive policy that covers accident compensation and even protects drivers from higher insurance premiums when crashes occur during autonomous driving functions. At its "Intelligent Strategy Event" held in Shenzhen on May 28, BYD unveiled a new service package aimed at expanding use of its God's Eye ADAS platform. The core policy is that BYD will directly handle repairs and compensation if accidents occur while using the system's City Navigation feature. The company also said users' insurance premiums for the following year would not increase. BYD had previously announced compensation coverage for accidents caused by algorithm errors or system defects in its autonomous parking system, including vehicle repairs, third-party property damage and personal injury compensation. At the May 28 event, the company expanded the policy to include accidents caused by errors in its city navigation assistance function. However, the compensation applies only to the higher-tier A and B versions of the three-tier God's Eye system lineup. The God's Eye ADAS platform is divided into three systems: the flagship A version, the upper-mid-tier B version and the entry-level C version. The entry-level C system provides Level 2 assistance features including automated highway entry and exit, lane keeping, adaptive cruise control, automatic lane changes, obstacle avoidance, automatic emergency braking, remote parking and autonomous parking after passengers exit the vehicle. The system uses a vision-centered architecture without lidar, equipped with 12 cameras — three front-facing cameras, five panoramic cameras and four surround-view cameras — along with five millimeter-wave radars and 12 ultrasonic radars. The God's Eye B system includes lidar and high-performance computing chips while offering more advanced capabilities such as city navigation assistance, handling complex intersections
Jun 1, 2026 · via thelec.net
Developing autonomous vehicle (AV) policies requires bridging an important gap between training and deployment. Vision-language-action (VLA) models that can reason over more complex driving scenes and produce richer intermediate reasoning are predominantly trained in open-loop, where model outputs are directly compared to ground-truth behaviors without considering their effect on the environment. In deployment, however, a driving policy runs in closed-loop, where every braking, steering, and navigation decision affects the environment, and small errors can compound over time. A systematic means to address this challenge is provided by NVIDIA Alpamayo, an open portfolio of AI models, simulation frameworks, and physical AI datasets for AV development. Alpamayo includes the AlpaSim AV simulation platform and the AlpaGym closed-loop training framework (coming soon). This post explains how to train AV models in closed-loop with NVIDIA Alpamayo. Specifically, it walks through how to: - Install and configure AlpaGym - Define closed-loop rewards - Launch closed-loop training - Export the post-trained checkpoint for downstream use Closed-loop post-training with AlpaGym extends AV training workflows by turning AlpaSim rollouts into training experience. Rather than treating simulation only as a final evaluation stage, AlpaGym connects simulator feedback directly to the policy training loop. How to use AlpaGym for closed-loop reinforcement learning Reinforcement learning (RL) can be used to improve a policy that was initially trained in open-loop. Instead of optimizing only against logged expert trajectories, the model can now learn from the consequences of its own actions in simulation. This shift is critical for AV development, where small prediction or planning errors can compound over time. In closed-loop training, each braking, steering, and navigation decision affects the next state of the environment, revealing failure modes that static datasets or open-loop evaluation may miss. However, enabling closed-loop RL comes with its own challenges. Model inference, running simulation, training models, syncing
Jun 1, 2026 · via developer.nvidia.com
News Summary: - NVIDIA’s most powerful open reasoning model to date, NVIDIA Alpamayo 2 Super is an open 32-billion-parameter reasoning VLA model that reasons, plans and acts across the full driving stack for safer, scalable level 4 development. - NVIDIA AlpaGym is a new high-throughput, closed-loop reinforcement learning framework that trains AV models on the consequences of their driving decisions in simulation before road deployment. - NVIDIA OmniDreams is a new generative world model for photorealistic closed-loop AV scenario generation, enabling developers to simulate rare and long-tail driving scenarios at scale. - NVIDIA physical AI agent skills for AV development include Neural Reconstruction powered by NVIDIA Omniverse NuRec, enabling developers to reconstruct real-world fleet data into photorealistic 3D scenes and adapt them across vehicle sensor configurations. NVIDIA GTC Taipei—NVIDIA today introduced NVIDIA Alpamayo 2 Super, a 32-billion-parameter reasoning‑based vision language action (VLA) model that extends the NVIDIA Alpamayo family of open AI models, simulation frameworks and physical AI datasets for safe, level 4 robotaxi development. Alongside the model, the company announced new tools, models and agent skills that complete the pipeline from real-world data capture to closed-loop training and in-vehicle deployment, including NVIDIA AlpaGym, NVIDIA OmniDreams and new NVIDIA Omniverse NuRec models. Alpamayo 2 Super helps accelerate autonomous vehicle (AV) development by eliminating the need to build key autonomy infrastructure from scratch. It enables humanlike perception, reasoning and action, and provides the interpretability needed for safety validation and regulatory collaboration. To better train models for on-road deployment, the AlpaGym framework provides a platform for closed-loop reinforcement learning (RL). The NVIDIA OmniDreams generative world model for photorealistic closed-loop AV scenario generation enables developers to simulate rare and long-tail driving scenarios at scale. To amplify developer productivity, NVIDIA is providing physical AI agent skills for all of its AV development tools. For
Jun 1, 2026 · via nvidianews.nvidia.com
Samsung Electronics tops automotive memory chip market in 2025: report SEOUL, May 31 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co. became the world's leading supplier of automotive memory chips last year, surpassing U.S. chipmaker Micron, an industry report showed Sunday. Samsung's share of the global automotive memory chip market rose to 40 percent last year from 35 percent in 2024, according to a report by S&P Global Mobility. Over the same period, Micron's market share fell to 36 percent from 40 percent, placing it at No. 2. Samsung's gains were driven in part by its expanding presence in China, one of the world's fastest-growing automotive markets. Market watchers said Samsung Electronics benefited from growing demand for advanced memory chips as autonomous driving systems become more widespread and as in-vehicle infotainment systems grow increasingly sophisticated across the board. The South Korean chipmaker is known to supply automotive memory chips to major customers, including Qualcomm, Bosch, Tesla and Denso. ejkim@yna.co.kr (END) - (3rd LD) Court acquits ex-President Yoon of perjury over testimony at ex-PM's trial - BTS shows in N. America draw 840,000 concertgoers: agency - Zombie thriller 'Colony' breaks 2 mln admissions - Foreign ministers of S. Korea, Croatia discuss arms, energy cooperation - Justice ministry recoups 139.6 bln won in criminal proceeds in 2025 - Shinsegae chairman to apologize again over Starbucks Korea's 'Tank Day' event - (5th LD) Iran-linked missiles behind attack on S. Korean vessel in Hormuz: foreign ministry - Culture minister says seeks 400 tln-won 'K-culture' market by 2030 - (URGENT) Hegseth calls for 'balanced' OPCON transfer where U.S. military plans, roles are 'honored' - Zombie thriller 'Colony' breaks 2 mln admissions - Seoul conveys position to Washington on USFK chief's 'dagger' remarks - S. Korea rout Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 in pre-World Cup friendly - (News Focus) Lee's
May 31, 2026 · via en.yna.co.kr
Estonia becomes third EU country to allow self-driving cars on its roads Estonia has become the third country in Europe to allow cars with self-driving systems on its roads, following the Netherlands and Lithuania. Within the next few months, drivers of newer Tesla electric cars in Estonia will be able to install a self-driving software update. "It is still a driver-assistance system, where the driver is responsible for the vehicle's entire driving behavior and safety and must take over the vehicle when necessary," explained Jürgo Vahtra, head of the Vehicle Technical Department at the Transport Administration. "At the same time, Tesla itself monitors whether the driver is engaging in unrelated activities or looking elsewhere. If not, it alerts that the driver is not paying attention to traffic. Therefore, this does not really affect current laws, because ultimately the driver remains responsible," he added. Geenius editor-in-chief Kuldar Kullasepp took a test drive in a self-driving car in Finland and said it handled all conditions perfectly and that, at times, the drive was even boring. "There are about eight cameras in the car that continuously send images to a computer. The computer constructs a picture of the world around it and then makes its decisions based on the experience it has gained from millions and millions of kilometers of driving. So it should be safer, it is certainly smoother, meaning there is no nervous road user," Kullasepp described. Pavel Nikolajev, whose family owns two Teslas, is eagerly awaiting the software update. He said it could help improve Estonia's driving culture. "When the car drives itself, it looks everywhere around it, and maybe they will also drive a little more slowly and properly, and then other cars will observe that and take it as an example," Nikolajev told Saturday's "Aktuaalne kaamera" evening news
May 31, 2026 · via news.err.ee
New episodes of State of Texas are on KXAN or the KXAN+ app every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. Don’t want to wait? Scroll down to continue watching this week’s segments now. AUSTIN (Nexstar) – Texas voters will elect a new U.S. senator this November. Attorney General Ken Paxton won Tuesday’s Republican runoff, defeating incumbent John Cornyn. The victory sets the stage for a November showdown with Democratic nominee James Talarico. “We just proved that this senate seat doesn’t belong to Washington, it belongs to you, the hardworking men and women of this state,” said Paxton in his victory speech. “No matter who you supported in this race…I want to earn your support. Tonight is the beginning of the fight to preserve every value we hold dear.” Paxton then shifted his attention to Talarico. He called him a “radical democrat,” claiming Talarico “is a threat to our security and our safety” and “to our prosperity and Texas economy”. “He wants boys and girls sports, gender mutilation surgery performed on kids. And when asked what he loved outside of his family and friends, his first answer was trans kids.” Paxton said to the crowd of supporters. He then listed off a series of derogatory nicknames for his opponent, drawing laughter and applause from the crowd of supportrers. The list included “six gender Jimmy,” in response to Talarico saying in a House committee meeting that there were six genders, “Tofu Talarico,” playing off allegations that he is vegan, and “Talafreako.” Talarico launched attacks of his own, starting minutes after Paxton secured the Republican nomination. In a social media post, Talarico called Paxton “the most corrupt politician in America.” “Three years ago, Ken Paxton was impeached by his own party for using his public office to enrich himself and his donors at the expense
May 31, 2026 · via ktsm.com
Innoviz Technologies Sees Lidar Momentum Rebounding as Defense, Physical AI Demand Grows Innoviz Technologies INVZ Chief Financial Officer Eldar Cegla said the lidar industry is seeing renewed momentum in automotive applications and growing demand in non-automotive markets tied to “Physical AI,” during a fireside chat at TD Cowen’s TMT Conference. Speaking with TD Cowen analyst Itay Michaeli, Cegla described Physical AI as systems that must interact with the real world in real time and therefore require strong perception capabilities. He said cameras remain widely used, but 3D sensors such as lidar can provide an AI system with a more detailed view of its surroundings by pinpointing objects in the environment. Cegla said the automotive lidar market has gone through a hype cycle and a subsequent slowdown, but is now in a more mature phase. He said the industry has a better understanding of the sensors required to support safe autonomous driving, with companies such as Mobileye and NVIDIA providing computing platforms that use sensor data to make driving decisions. Defense and Security Seen as Near-Term Growth Areas Cegla said Innoviz began expanding its market focus beyond automotive more than a year ago, initially exploring areas such as smart cities, intelligent transportation systems and construction. More recently, he said the company has seen growing demand from security and defense applications, including situational awareness, perimeter security and automated systems that must navigate their environments. “We see that there is a real sense of urgency in these kinds of applications and an actual missing link or sensory level, which is not accommodated for by cameras and radars because they have certain shortcomings,” Cegla said. In non-automotive markets, Cegla said Innoviz does not intend to act as a Tier 1 supplier as it does in automotive programs. Instead, the company expects to supply lidar
May 31, 2026 · via tradingview.com
A group of consumers has filed a class-action lawsuit against Tesla (TSLA) seeking over 3.95M yuan ($583K) in damages, alleging that the EV maker fraudulently marketed its Full SelfâDriving feature, The Beijing News reported.
The litigation filed by 10 Chinese
May 30, 2026 · via seekingalpha.com
Tesla is marching toward its goal of global vehicle autonomy, slowly but surely rolling out its advanced driver assistance features across multiple international markets. What started as an exclusive, experimental software trial in the United States has quickly expanded into a worldwide deployment. By systematically checking off regional regulatory requirements, Tesla is turning its neural network framework into a scalable solution. FSD now allows a Tesla to navigate complex city streets, handle busy intersections, execute protected or unprotected turns, and manage high-speed lane changes on its own. It accomplishes this by leveraging an end-to-end neural network trained on more than 10 billion miles of real-world driving data. FSD even serves as the foundation of Tesla’s autonomous Robotaxi service. The latest iteration of the software at the time of writing is version 14.3.3, which started rolling out earlier this month, delivering a smoother, more refined experience with reduced driver monitoring. As Tesla continues to expand FSD availability, the hardware limitations and launch conditions vary by territory. Let's take an intensive, market-by-market look at the current state of Tesla's global autonomous footprint. United States The U.S. serves as the testbed and epicenter of Tesla's autonomous development. The original FSD Beta officially launched to its first private consumer testers back in October 2020, running on Hardware 3 (HW3). Today, the U.S. remains the first market in the world to receive the latest FSD software iterations. While the software continues to support millions of older legacy vehicles, the most advanced neural network builds and newest features now only roll out to more modern vehicles with Hardware 4 (AI4). Canada Canada was the first international expansion territory for the driver assist program, officially introducing FSD in March 2022 on HW3-equipped vehicles. Because Canadian vehicles have to deal with intense winter conditions, more country roads, and
May 30, 2026 · via notateslaapp.com
Elon Musk has shared new footage on X showcasing the Cybercab driving itself out of Giga Texas. The brief clip captures a couple of the gold-painted robotaxis exiting the factory doors, navigating the outdoor logistics lots while following street signs, executing tight turns, and blending into active factory traffic — all entirely unassisted. Cybercab driving itself out of the GigaTexas factory pic.twitter.com/EwAMVVDjYy — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 28, 2026 Responding to Musk's post, Tesla’s AI chief, Ashok Elluswamy, teased that the Cybercab could begin commercial Robotaxi operations very soon. He even revealed where these purpose-built autonomous vehicles are heading first, writing, "Soon it’ll be driving itself in to Austin city, reporting for duty!" Elluswamy's comments indicate that Tesla is not only closing in on Cybercab deployment but that Austin will likely be the debut market where the next-gen vehicle will officially join the fleet. Factory Automation: Built Into Tesla's DNA While seeing an unmanned Cybercab cruise out of a factory is exciting, this functionality builds directly on previous automation that Tesla has already established at its facilities. Tesla is building the Cybercab at Gigafactory Texas, where Model Ys have been driving themselves off the production line for quite some time now. In fact, the company already achieved a world-first by autonomously delivering a Model Y from Giga Texas straight to a local customer's doorstep last year. Tesla has also achieved similar automation internationally; vehicles also drive themselves off the line at Giga Berlin. The progression to the Cybercab shows how Tesla’s autonomy-first fleet is designed to manage its own physical distribution right from birth. Production Ramps Up as Regulatory Paths Clear This video drops at a critical operational moment in the Cybercab’s life. Tesla officially kicked off mass production last month, and we've already seen fleets of Cybercab units sitting
May 30, 2026 · via notateslaapp.com
Huawei-GAC’s Aistaland GT7 electric shooting brake opens pre-sales with over 10,000 pre-orders in 5 hours Aistaland (Qijing), the premium intelligent new energy vehicle brand jointly established by GAC Group and Huawei, officially opened pre-sales for its inaugural model, the GT7, on May 29, 2026. The mid-to-large pure electric shooting brake secured over 10,000 orders within the first five hours of its launch. Blind orders for this model opened in March this year, and the interior was revealed two weeks ago. The GT7 is available in four configurations, with a pre-sale price range of 219,900 yuan (32,300 USD) to 309,900 yuan (45,600 USD). The vehicle is scheduled to officially hit the market in June 2026. Performance and engineering Built on an 800V high-voltage architecture, the GT7 features a chassis equipped with a closed-loop dual-chamber air suspension and continuously adjustable damping. The top-tier Ultra three-motor all-wheel-drive version delivers a combined output of 768 hp, enabling a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 2.98 seconds. The entry-level model is powered by a single-motor rear-wheel-drive system producing 253 kW (340 hp), achieving a 0-100 km/h sprint in 5.9 seconds. The vehicle offers two battery options customised by CATL: an 86.111 kWh pack and a 102.768 kWh Qilin battery that supports 6C fast charging, providing a maximum CLTC range of 900 km. Dimensions and design The GT7 measures 5,050 mm in length, 1,980 mm in width, and 1,470 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,000 mm. Its design emphasises aerodynamics and utility, featuring a “shooting brake” silhouette that offers a trunk capacity of 647 litres, expandable to 1,606 litres with the rear seats folded, alongside a 215-litre waterproof front trunk. Intelligent technology As the first vehicle to feature the Huawei Qiankun ADS 5.0 intelligent driving system, the GT7 is hardware-ready for L3 autonomous driving. The
May 30, 2026 · via carnewschina.com
We’ve seen Waymo’s fleet of autonomous taxis cause plenty of mayhem on public streets. They like to ignore bike lanes, drive the wrong way down busy roads, and even rely on remote workers in the Philippines when they get stumped. Riding them can also quickly turn into a terrifying near-death experience, as one couple in San Francisco found out firsthand. As CBS News reports, the couple was looking to get home in the Mission District only for their Waymo cab to veer off a highway and accelerate to terrifying speeds while driving down a construction lane. All the while, police vehicles were trying to chase it down with sirens blaring. “There were construction signs,” resident Elliot Slade told the broadcaster over the weekend. “There were lights going on. Police in the distance and it sped up. That’s when I looked at my fiancée, we’re done.” “This is it,” he added. “We’re dead. We’re going to die right here in the Waymo.” The terrifying incident underlines the very real dangers of relying on autonomous vehicles for ride shares, while they still suffer from nagging technical shortcomings that are putting people in danger. It could also further erode public trust in the tech. In the last two months alone, Waymo’s vehicles have been observed driving through flooded streets and speeding through construction zones, as USA Today reports. The latest incident also proved scary enough for Waymo to pull its cars from freeways in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami altogether as it works to “integrate recent technical learnings into our software,” according to a statement to CBS. The offending Waymo vehicle “started freaking out,” Slade recalled, because of a slew of merging lanes, causing cars to be “all over the place.” Smartphone footage Slade recorded shows the dramatic incident from his
May 30, 2026 · via futurism.com
China's Best-Selling Car Just Got Better And Cheaper The updated Geely Xingyuan (EX2) has new assisted driving features, more range, and starts at just above $9,000. - The Geely Xingyuan (EX2) was China's best-selling car in 2025. - The update adds more tech and a larger battery, good for up to 298 miles of CLTC range. - The new base price is a mere $9,133 for a limited time. I may have just published my overview of China’s best-selling car, the Geely Xingyuan (EX2), but that doesn’t mean Chinese brands are going to stand still. About a month after driving the EX2, Geely has already updated it to stay competitive in China’s hot small car market. It may look about the same as the car I’ve driven, but the updates under the skin are more substantial than what the familiar styling suggests. Firstly, the EX2 gains the Geely Afari Smart Driving (G-ASD) system. Announced earlier this year at CES, this AI-forward driving-assistance program is the backbone of Geely’s autonomous-driving aspirations. Although in this instance, the implementation isn’t as in-depth as the Geely EVA Cab self-driving concept car, it does gain navigate-on-autopilot automated navigation features and automated parking. It even gets sentry mode, where the cameras can record the vehicle's surroundings. This is a big deal, considering the older models didn’t have these features at all, while its biggest competitor, the BYD Seagull, offered its God’s Eye system as an option. Then, the EX2 now has more range. The powertrain is about the same: the base 80-horsepower version with the 30.12-kilowatt-hour battery, and the 114-hp and 40.16-kWh battery trims. Now there's also a new, larger 47 kWh battery. With this new battery, the EX2 can now reach 298 miles of range, but keep in mind these numbers are for China’s CLTC
May 30, 2026 · via insideevs.com
It turns out not even the people building Tesla’s self-driving tech trust Elon Musk’s extravagant claims about the company’s autonomous vehicles. New reporting by Reuters interviewed nine former data labelers and a former self-driving engineer about their take on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving mode. The results were overwhelmingly negative, with seven of the data specialists admitting they wouldn’t ride in a Tesla in FSD. “We have all seen it fail,” one Tesla insider told Reuters. “Definitely don’t trust Elon on this,” the self-driving engineer concurred, referencing Musks’ declaration that the the vehicles are ready for “safe unsupervised” rides. One erstwhile worker told the publication they wouldn’t ride in a Tesla robotaxi “if you f**king paid me.” At least five data labelers, whose job was to comb through hours of FSD footage to train the vehicle’s software to avoid past mistakes, told Reuters they routinely saw clips of Teslas driving above the speed limit, an issue which engineers and managers treated like a low-priority compared to edge-case issues. Those glowing recommendations come amidst concerns that Tesla’s FSD mode may never be truly safe enough for public roads. In recent months, Tesla operating on FSD move have driven riders into lakes, off bridges, and even into the path of oncoming trains — and those are just the incidents that get media exposure. Given these insiders’ direct access to terabytes’ worth of proprietary FSD footage, we’re inclined to take their word on it. More on Tesla: Man Drives Cybertruck Into Lake to Test Elon Musk’s “Boat” Claims, and It Went About as Well as You’d Guess
May 30, 2026 · via futurism.com
Wayve launches new AI lab British autonomous driving company Wayve is moving into a new phase of AI development, announcing the launch of a new research unit called “Wayve Labs” to expand its research beyond self-driving cars into broader areas related to robotics and intelligent systems capable of interacting with the real world. In this article: British autonomous driving company Wayve is moving into a new phase of AI development, announcing the launch of a new research unit called “Wayve Labs” to expand its research beyond self-driving cars into broader areas related to robotics and intelligent systems capable of interacting with the real world. The move comes as the AI sector undergoes a rapid shift toward so-called ”embodied intelligence” — systems that can understand their environment, make decisions, and interact with physical elements autonomously. Betting on embodied intelligence The new lab is led by Jamie Shotton, Wayve's chief scientist and a former Microsoft executive. The team focuses on developing models that understand motion, space, causal relationships, and risk, while enabling intelligent systems to learn from the outcomes of their actions in real-world environments. The company believes the expertise it has accumulated over years of developing autonomous driving technology can form the foundation for broader applications, including industrial robotics, logistics, and autonomous systems operating outside vehicles. From roads to robots Wayve is globally known for developing a different approach to autonomous driving, relying on direct learning from data rather than traditional rule-based systems and detailed maps. This approach helped the company build an AI platform capable of adapting to different environments and learning from real-world experiences. With the launch of the new lab, the company aims to leverage this expertise to develop more general-purpose models that can be used in multiple applications within the physical world, beyond transportation and smart vehicles.
May 30, 2026 · via jawlah.co
By Ed Ludlow, Bloomberg Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo unit will deploy a new autonomous vehicle designed specifically for robotaxi use, offering public rides in California and Arizona without human supervision. Dubbed the Ojai, the self-driving vehicle will initially be made available to select riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, Waymo said Thursday in a blog post. The four-seat minivan is being built with Zeekr, an arm of China-based automaker Geely Automobile Holdings, through a partnership the companies announced in 2021. Waymo is the leader in offering ridehailing services using autonomous vehicles without a human driver in the US, though Tesla Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.’s Zoox are beginning to make inroads. Waymo is charging fares for rides in cities including San Francisco, Phoenix and Atlanta and testing in others. ALSO SEE: Tesla reveals its Texas robotaxi fleet is dwarfed by Waymo’s The new vehicle marks an evolution of Waymo’s recent fleet strategy utilizing retrofitted consumer models. A more purpose-built vehicle improves the economics for the company, while also enhancing the customer experience, Waymo says. The vehicle features a roomier cabin than a traditional car and accessibility features such as a flat floor and low step-in height. It will also debut the latest generation of Waymo’s autonomous driving system, the company said. Initial Ojai rides will be free of charge to gather feedback from users before adding more cities over time. Building the vehicle jointly with Geely’s Zeekr unit highlights how Western companies are increasingly looking to partner with Chinese automakers despite US policies that have largely shut those companies out of the American market. The US Commerce Department has imposed a ban on connected vehicles and related technologies linked to China. The shuttle-like Ojai vehicle is designed in Sweden and built on an electric “skateboard platform” that’s imported to the
May 30, 2026 · via ocregister.com
By Ed Ludlow, Bloomberg Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo unit will deploy a new autonomous vehicle designed specifically for robotaxi use, offering public rides in California and Arizona without human supervision. Dubbed the Ojai, the self-driving vehicle will initially be made available to select riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, Waymo said Thursday in a blog post. The four-seat minivan is being built with Zeekr, an arm of China-based automaker Geely Automobile Holdings, through a partnership the companies announced in 2021. Waymo is the leader in offering ridehailing services using autonomous vehicles without a human driver in the US, though Tesla Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.’s Zoox are beginning to make inroads. Waymo is charging fares for rides in cities including San Francisco, Phoenix and Atlanta and testing in others. ALSO SEE: Tesla reveals its Texas robotaxi fleet is dwarfed by Waymo’s The new vehicle marks an evolution of Waymo’s recent fleet strategy utilizing retrofitted consumer models. A more purpose-built vehicle improves the economics for the company, while also enhancing the customer experience, Waymo says. The vehicle features a roomier cabin than a traditional car and accessibility features such as a flat floor and low step-in height. It will also debut the latest generation of Waymo’s autonomous driving system, the company said. Initial Ojai rides will be free of charge to gather feedback from users before adding more cities over time. Building the vehicle jointly with Geely’s Zeekr unit highlights how Western companies are increasingly looking to partner with Chinese automakers despite US policies that have largely shut those companies out of the American market. The US Commerce Department has imposed a ban on connected vehicles and related technologies linked to China. The shuttle-like Ojai vehicle is designed in Sweden and built on an electric “skateboard platform” that’s imported to the
May 30, 2026 · via dailybulletin.com
Waymo has expanded its autonomous vehicle service area in Houston to nearly 50 square miles, adding neighborhoods like EaDo, the Texas Medical Center and Northeast Houston, the company announced. The expansion includes NRG Stadium, which is set to host hundreds of thousands of fans for FIFA World Cup festivities in June and July. The ride-hailing service first opened to the public in Houston in February, alongside launches in Dallas and San Antonio. Since then, Waymo says it has welcomed tens of thousands of riders in each city. Combined with its Austin operations, the company now covers nearly 300 square miles across four Texas cities, with plans to grow further. Tesla Robotaxis are also running in Houston as of April. Shweta Shrivastava, Senior Product Leader at Waymo, spoke to the company's growth strategy. "Waymo is coming to more riders, both near and far. As we welcome new cities into our service, we are also deepening our investment in the communities we already serve. Our 'land and expand' approach allows us to connect with more neighbors, ensuring we are there to support riders for everything from daily commutes and local errands to exciting nights out and the big game." The company also points to a recent internal safety analysis of 170 million rider-only miles, which it says shows the Waymo driver was involved in 92% fewer crashes causing serious or fatal injuries than human drivers, and 83% fewer crashes where airbags were deployed. The rollout has not been without hiccups. Video captured a Waymo SUV driving into oncoming traffic near downtown Houston. A Waymo vehicle in Atlanta drove into a flooded street and stalled. Got a news tip or story idea? Email us at newstips@khou.com or call 713-521-4310 and include the best way to reach you.
May 30, 2026 · via autos.yahoo.com
Waymo is preparing to launch its next-generation Ojai robotaxi for public riders, marking a major step forward in the expansion of autonomous ride-hailing services in the United States. The new electric van will initially roll out in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix through a free early-access program before broader public availability later this year. The Ojai represents a significant evolution for Waymo’s self-driving fleet. While the company’s current Jaguar I-Pace robotaxis will remain in service, the new purpose-built vehicle introduces a more spacious cabin, enhanced accessibility, and a new generation of autonomous driving technology designed to improve performance in difficult weather conditions. A Purpose-Built Robotaxi Experience Unlike retrofitted passenger vehicles, the Waymo Ojai was developed specifically for autonomous ride-hailing. The vehicle is based on the Zeekr RT platform, itself derived from the Zeekr Mix electric van developed by Geely-owned EV brand Zeekr. Waymo says the Ojai was designed to feel more like a “living room on wheels” than a traditional car. Elevator-style sliding doors open to reveal a flat-floor interior with a low step-in height, making entry and exit easier for riders of all ages and mobility levels. Large windows create an airy atmosphere inside the cabin, while three LED displays allow passengers to control climate settings, entertainment, and ride preferences. The roomy interior is expected to provide a more comfortable experience compared to the existing Jaguar I-Pace fleet. Accessibility was also a central focus during development. The Ojai includes embedded braille, screen-reader compatibility, and integrated support handles to improve usability for passengers with disabilities. Sixth-Generation Waymo Driver The Ojai will be the first vehicle equipped with Waymo’s sixth-generation autonomous driving system, known as the Waymo Driver. The updated platform introduces major hardware and software improvements while reducing overall sensor complexity and costs. The system now uses 13 cameras,
May 30, 2026 · via electriccarsreport.com
Rental Operations Why Car Rental Can No Longer Run On Workarounds The shift from branch-based software to connected operations is turning rental technology into strategic infrastructure. The autonomous mobility technology revolution will move at its own pace, but sooner rather than later. We are entering the final stretch toward SAE Level 5, defined as full self-driving with zero human supervision, anywhere and under any conditions. Auto Rental News *Summarized by AI The autonomous mobility revolution keeps moving ahead, despite premature predictions of mass self-driving vehicles by 2025. But it’s still a question of when, not if. For the car rental industry, that moment is still looming sooner than most operators realize. What began as a bold, futuristic scenario will increasingly redefine rental fleet operations, and the companies that transition and adapt over the next few years will be more likely to handle the mobility market of the 2030s. Last month at the International Car Rental Show (ICRS), I presented this message to industry leaders. The response confirmed what many of us have quietly suspected: rental operators are hungry for a practical roadmap through the impending disruption. They recognize that technology is shifting the automotive and ground transportation industries. I’m expanding on my presentation by offering a deeper macroeconomic analysis, concrete operational data, and practical strategies for independent and corporate operators. To understand how rapidly consumer behavior shifts when a disruptive mobility model arrives, look no further than ride-hailing. However, many in our industry may be drawing incomplete conclusions from the past decade, viewing Uber as the destination of market disruption rather than a proof of concept. When Uber and Lyft were aggressively expanding, they operated at a consumer price point of about $1.00 to $1.50 per mile. Even at that rate, the interference with the car rental industry was immediate
May 30, 2026 · via autorentalnews.com