Waymo has started giving select riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco access to its newest robotaxi: an all-electric, minivan-like vehicle designed to lower costs and handle the wear of hundreds of thousands of riders.
Waymo said it will eventually expand access to the vehicle — a modified Zeekr-made minivan called the Ojai (pronounced oh-hi) — to more riders and cities. For now, the Alphabet-owned company is offering a limited number of customers free rides in the Ojai to gather feedback and further refine the robotaxi experience.
The launch follows years of development and testing, all aimed at creating a vehicle that is accessible, comfortable, easy to maintain, and costs less to build and operate. Its arrival also comes amid a challenging period for Waymo, which recently suspended robotaxi service on freeways in Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, and San Francisco to improve how its vehicles handle construction zones. Waymo also paused services in Atlanta and San Antonio to address problems related to flooding.
While the vehicle runs on Waymo’s hardware and software, its foundation comes from Zeekr, the brand owned by China’s Geely Holdings. The companies partnered in 2021 and revealed a concept of the purpose-built robotaxi in late 2022. Waymo has spent nearly two years testing a prototype, and later a production-intent version, on public roads. The minivan was designed in Sweden and manufactured in China, based on the SEA-M architecture — a refined version of Zeekr’s Sustainable Experience Architecture intended for future mobility products such as robotaxis and logistics vehicles.
The stripped-down Zeekr vehicles, which Waymo says do not contain any Chinese connected car technology, are shipped to the company’s Arizona factory where they are outfitted with Waymo’s robotaxi systems.
The Ojai is equipped with Waymo’s sixth-generation sensor suite, including 13 cameras, four lidar sensors, six radar units, and an array of external audio receivers. That system is designed to be modular, meaning it can be applied to multiple vehicle types — including the already-announced Hyundai Ioniq 5.
Waymo’s current fleet consists of approximately 3,700 Jaguar I-Pace vehicles. The company said it is now scaling toward a capacity of tens of thousands of units annually, starting with the Ojai and followed by the Ioniq 5.
The Ojai features a flat floor, low step-in height, and gondola-style doors on both sides for easier entry and exit. Rider-focused amenities include charging ports, cup holders, increased leg and headroom, grab bars, braille labeling above buttons, and three large adaptive screens for accessing route information, music, climate controls, and ride feedback. The vehicle also features an easier-to-clean interior, faster charging, a modular design, and increased battery capacity.
Source: Waymo’s Ojai Robotaxi, Built on a Zeekr Platform, Opens to Select Riders