Waymo Opens Zeekr-Built Ojai Robotaxis to Riders

TechCrunch reports that Waymo has about 300 Ojai robotaxis in its commercial fleet. The company has long relied on modified Jaguar I-Pace EVs, but Jaguar discontinued that model in 2024, Gizmodo reports. The Ojai's larger van-style cabin includes sliding doors and seats up to four passengers, according to InsideEVs.

The vehicle runs Waymo's sixth-generation autonomous driving system. TechCrunch reports that the system was designed as a modular platform that can work across multiple vehicle types. InsideEVs describes the Arizona-installed hardware suite as including 13 cameras, four lidars, and six radars. TechCrunch also reports that the Ojai includes a redesigned rider interface and Google's Gemini AI as an in-car assistant.

That architecture matters beyond cabin design. Autonomous fleet operators have to validate the interaction of sensors, compute, vehicle controls, and operational software for every platform they deploy. Across the sector, reusable self-driving stacks can reduce the amount of vehicle-specific integration work required when fleets add new body styles, although real-world validation remains tied to the operational design domain of each deployment.

The Ojai's public rollout gives US passengers access to a Chinese-made EV through a ride-hailing service, even as Chinese passenger EV brands remain largely absent from US retail dealerships. Gizmodo reports that Chinese-made EVs face a 100% US tariff in addition to other import duties, while connected-car restrictions also apply to Chinese and Russian-linked vehicle technology.

Electrek reports that Waymo has imported Zeekr vehicles through the Port of Los Angeles since 2024, citing Forbes figures for more than 3,200 vehicles. That import total is not independently documented in the retrieved Forbes material, but the reporting illustrates the distinction between retail EV sales and purpose-built fleet procurement.

For data and ML practitioners, the more durable technical development is the transition from retrofitting a consumer vehicle to deploying a platform designed around autonomous operations. Comparable fleet transitions tend to increase the importance of sensor calibration workflows, fleet observability, simulation coverage, and reproducible software releases across hardware revisions.

According to TechCrunch, Waymo announced that it intends to roll out the Ojai in Denver, Las Vegas, and San Diego later in 2026. Engadget separately reports that Waymo recently received approval to operate driverless vehicles in Sacramento and San Diego.

The Ojai rollout arrives amid continued operational scrutiny of robotaxi services. Engadget reports that Waymo paused freeway trips in May and recalled vehicles after some entered closed construction zones; the company restored freeway access in July. Those events underscore a recurring deployment reality: wider fleet availability and new vehicle platforms do not eliminate the need for tightly monitored operational safeguards at the edges of an autonomous system's tested conditions.