Waymo’s newest robo-taxi is a Chinese-made one, designed to make money, and now it’s accepting passengers

Waymo has begun giving select riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco access to its newest robo-taxi: an all-electric minivan-like vehicle designed to cut costs and handle the use and abuse of hundreds of thousands of passengers.

Waymo said Thursday that it will eventually expand access to the vehicle, a modified pickup truck made by Zeekr called the Ojai (pronounced oh-hi), to more commuters and cities. Currently, the Alphabet-owned company is offering a limited number of customers free rides in Ojai to collect feedback and improve the robotaxi experience.

The launch of the Ojai comes after years of development and testing – all in the quest to create a vehicle that is accessible, comfortable, easy to maintain and, most importantly, less expensive to build and operate.

Its arrival also comes amid a difficult time for Waymo, which recently suspended its robotaxi service On highways in Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix and San Francisco to improve the behavior of their vehicles in construction zones. Waymo also temporarily halted its services in Atlanta, Georgia, and San Antonio, Texas, to address issues Floods in those cities.

The launch of the blue minivan may not wipe Waymo’s slate clean, but it gives the company a real opportunity to expand and generate revenue.

While the car is loaded with Waymo hardware and software, its foundation comes from Zeekr, the brand owned by Chinese company Geely Holdings.

Companies a partner In 2021 it showed the concept A robot taxi designed for this purpose In late 2022. Waymo spent nearly two years testing a prototype, and later a production version of the car on public roads.

The minibus, designed in Sweden and manufactured in China, is based on the SEA-M architecture, a revised version of Zeekr’s original Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) intended for “future mobility products” such as robotaxis and logistics vehicles.

The Ojai is equipped with Waymo’s sixth-generation system – including 13 cameras, four lidar sensors, six radar units and an array of external audio receivers. This sixth-generation system is a cornerstone of Waymo’s business strategy because it is designed to be modular. This means it can be applied to multiple types of vehicles, including two that have already been announced, the Zeekr minivan and the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Ojai is supposed to reflect technological advancements and the lessons the company has learned from offering more than 500,000 paid robotaxi trips Every week. It also aims to accelerate the growth of Waymo’s fleet, which today stands at around 3,700 Jaguar I-Pace vehicles.

The stripped-down Zeekr vehicles — which don’t contain any Chinese connected car technology — are sent to Waymo’s factory in Arizona, where they’re outfitted with all the bells and whistles of their robots. The company said it is now expanding towards a capacity of tens of thousands of units per year starting with Ojai, followed by the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

The result is a car with a flat floor, a low ride height, and gondola-like doors on either side for easy entry and exit. There are other features aimed at pleasing passengers, including charging ports, cup holders, increased leg and head room, grab bars, Braille over the various buttons, and three large adaptive displays, where customers can access the route, change the music, control the climate, and offer tips to the passenger.

It also features an easier-to-clean interior, faster charging, a modular design, and increased battery capacity – all details that can help reduce costs and make maintenance and repairs more efficient.