Alphabet’s Waymo launched its next-generation Ojai robotaxi for all riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. This full rollout follows an initial limited access program in those three cities.
The Ojai is Waymo’s first vehicle custom-built for autonomous ride-hailing. It features a more spacious interior than the retrofitted Jaguar I-PACE SUVs used in the older fleet.
Waymo built the Ojai on a platform from Chinese automaker Zeekr. The new model is significantly cheaper to produce than the previous Jaguar fleet.
A new hardware generation with fewer sensors enables these cost reductions. Waymo aims for these savings to drive mass adoption and eventual profitability in the autonomous vehicle sector.