U.S. Residents Can Ride Zeekr Ojai Robotaxis: Waymo Launches Nationwide Public Testing

Following its free trial launch on May 28, Waymo has now officially opened its next-generation Ojai autonomous taxi service to the general public in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The vehicle is manufactured in China by Zeekr, a premium all-electric brand under GEELY Holdings Group — and stands among the very few Chinese-made electric vehicles currently available for actual passenger rides in the U.S. market — though it remains unavailable for direct consumer purchase.

According to Forbes, since 2024, Waymo has imported over 3,200 Zeekr vehicles via the Port of Los Angeles — including more than 2,600 units in 2026 alone. Despite facing steep U.S. tariffs on Chinese EVs — approximately 127.5% — Waymo deems the economics viable: the base Zeekr Ojai chassis is low-cost, and when combined with Waymo's in-house sixth-generation sensor and computing platform (costing less than $20,000 per unit), the total vehicle cost is projected to be less than half that of its current Jaguar I-PACE robotaxis.

To comply with the U.S. Department of Commerce's upcoming 'Connected Vehicle Rule' set to take effect in 2027, all imported Zeekr Ojai units enter the U.S. as 'bare chassis' — stripped of Chinese connectivity hardware and sensors — and are subsequently fitted and assembled domestically at Waymo's Mesa, Arizona facility in partnership with supplier Magna. Thus, while the body, battery, and cabin are authentically Zeekr, the 'brain' — the full autonomy stack — is entirely replaced with U.S.-designed systems.

The Ojai is built on Zeekr's SEA-M pure-electric architecture and purpose-built from the ground up as a dedicated robotaxi — not a converted internal-combustion vehicle. Its interior features a flat floor, low step-in height, and dual-side elevator-style sliding doors. The rear cabin includes three adaptive screens (for navigation, entertainment, and climate control), plus integrated charging ports, cup holders, armrests, and Braille signage for accessibility. Its sixth-generation Driver system integrates 13 cameras, 4 LiDAR units, and 6 millimeter-wave radars — reducing total sensor count by 42% versus the previous generation, further enabling scalable deployment.

As of last week, Waymo had nearly 1,000 Ojai units stockpiled at its Arizona factory, with hundreds already modified and deployed alongside its existing fleet of roughly 3,700 Jaguar I-PACE vehicles — supporting approximately 500,000 paid rides per week. The company aims to double weekly ride volume to 1 million by year-end and plans to concurrently introduce the Hyundai IONIQ 5 as its second robotaxi platform. Ojai service will also roll out to Denver, San Diego, and Las Vegas in the coming months.