After several months of testing, Waymo is finally ready to invite non-employee passengers into its latest vehicle, the Zeeker RT minivan, which has been rebranded as the Ojai. Waymo says it will start offering access to “select riders” in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, before “gradually” expanding to more riders and cities. The trips will be free to start, as Waymo collects data about the passenger experience in the new vehicle. Paid rides will be followed.
Waymo’s current fleet of Jaguar I-Pace vehicles runs on the company’s fifth-generation technology, which was first launched 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.
Waymo partnered with Chinese automaker Geely to design a purpose-built, passenger-first autonomous vehicle. Geely owns automakers such as Volvo, Lotus and Polestar, as well as a stake in luxury British automaker Aston Martin. The company mostly manufactures luxury vehicles for the Chinese market. Given high tariffs and restrictions against the import of vehicles with Chinese software, this appears to be an obstacle for Waymo. But Waymo has sidestepped the ban, saying it has removed any connected software from the vehicles it imports from Zeeker.
Waymo says its sixth-generation system is the smartest, most capable autonomous vehicle ever designed, while also using fewer sensors to reduce its overall cost. Its cameras are more powerful, its lidar is able to see things that cameras might miss, and its improved radar is able to deal with extreme weather conditions. But more importantly, it’s built for “high volume production,” with Waymo’s manufacturing partners capable of producing “thousands of units per year.”
The Ojai/Zeekar vehicle features a more spacious cabin, increased leg room, three larger screens, charging ports and cupholders. The vehicle can accommodate four passengers, but Waymo says it is more accessible than its previous vehicles, with a flat floor and low-stair height for easy entry, instructions in Braille and grab bars. With faster EV charging and increased battery capacity, the Ojai will also be easier to maintain and clean.
The announcement comes at the end of a few difficult weeks for Waymo. The Alphabet-owned company suspended freeway driving in all of its cities due to concerns about how its vehicles react in construction zones. The halt came after several of the company’s robotaxis were spotted driving at high speeds on flooded roads in Texas, forcing Waymo to issue a software recall for its entire fleet, including its sixth-generation vehicles.
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