Waymo to begin passenger rides in its new Ojai robotaxi

After several months of testing, Waymo is finally ready to invite non-employee passengers into its newest vehicle, the Zeekr RT minivan, which has been rebranded as Ojai. Waymo says it will begin offering “select riders” access in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, before “gradually” expanding to more riders and cities. Trips will be free to start out, as Waymo collects data about the passenger experience in the new vehicle. Paid rides will follow.Waymo’s current fleet of Jaguar I-Pace vehicles runs on the company’s fifth generation technology, first rolled out in March 2020. But that vehicle has reached the end of its shelf life, after Jaguar discontinued the model at the end of 2024. The Ojai will be the debut of the sixth generation system, followed by the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Waymo is also partnering with Toyota for future models.It’s been nearly four years since Waymo first debuted the Zeekr minivan as its next, purpose-built autonomous ridehail vehicle. It’s the second ground-up design that Waymo has unveiled after the original Firefly, the iconic tiny bubble car that was retired in 2017.Waymo partnered with Chinese automaker Geely to design the purpose-built, passenger-first autonomous vehicle. Geely owns automakers like Volvo, Lotus, and Polestar, as well as a stake in the luxury British automaker Aston Martin. The company makes luxury vehicles mostly for the Chinese market. This would seem to represent an obstacle for Waymo, given the high tariffs and restrictions against importing vehicles with Chinese software. But Waymo has said the vehicles it imports from Zeekr have been stripped of any connected software, sidestepping the ban.Waymo says that its sixth-generation system is the smartest, most capable autonomous vehicle it’s ever designed, while also using fewer sensors to lower its overall costs. Its cameras are more powerful, its lidar are able to see things the cameras might miss, and its improved radar are able to tackle extreme weather conditions. But more importantly, its built for “high-volume production,” with Waymo’s manufacturing partners able to churn out “tens of thousands of units a year.”The Ojai/Zeekr vehicle features a more expansive cabin, increased leg room, three large screens, charge ports, and cupholders. The vehicle can accommodate up four passengers, but Waymo says it’s more accessible than its previous vehicles, with a flat floor and low-step height for easier entry, instructions in braille, and grab bars. The Ojai will also be easier to maintenance and clean, with faster EV charging and increased battery capacity.The announcement comes at the end of a rough couple weeks for Waymo. The Alphabet-owned suspended freeway driving across all of its cities out of concerns about how its vehicles reacted to construction zones. The pause came after several of the company’s robotaxis were spotted driving through flooded roads at elevated speeds in Texas, forcing Waymo to issue a software recall for its entire fleet, including its sixth generation vehicles.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Andrew J. Hawkins