Waymo Expands Robotaxi Operations with Focus on California and Texas
Waymo has significantly expanded its robotaxi services across the U.S., operating in 15 cities as of now, up from three in September 2024. The company averages around 500,000 paid rides per week but remains heavily concentrated in California and Texas, where about 80% of its fleet is deployed. In particular, Waymo's Texas operations have seen a notable surge, with the fleet growing by nearly half over three weeks due to new Chinese-built Ojai minivans. The Ojai robotaxi uses Zeekr’s SEA-M platform and features Google’s Gemini AI but faces cost challenges from U.S. import tariffs on vehicles built in China. Despite these costs, Waymo is scaling up its imports of the vehicle, with plans to bring 5,100 units into the country by year-end. The company aims for mass scale through this new model and has already expanded robotaxi services beyond Austin to Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Waymo’s strategy reflects a balance between technological innovation and cost efficiency as it seeks profitability in an emerging autonomous vehicle market.
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Topics: autonomous vehicles fleet growth robotaxi Waymo expansion