Waymo Opens Chinese-Made Zeekr Ojai Robotaxi to All
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Waymo opened its next-generation Ojai robotaxi to the general public in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, transitioning from free early-access rides (launched May 28) to commercial operations across all three markets.
- The Ojai is built by Zeekr — the premium EV brand owned by China's Geely Holding Group — on the SEA-M architecture, with the body designed in Sweden and final assembly done by Waymo at its Mesa, Arizona facility with supplier Magna.
- Waymo has imported more than 3,200 Zeekr vehicles through the Port of Los Angeles since 2024, with 2,600+ arriving in 2026 alone, despite paying a roughly 127.5% tariff on Chinese EVs; the Ojai's per-unit cost is still expected to be less than half that of the Jaguar I-PACE robotaxis it is replacing.
- The Ojai runs Waymo's sixth-generation Driver using 13 cameras, 4 lidars, and 6 radars — a 42% sensor reduction from the fifth generation — with the hardware stack now costing under $20,000 per vehicle, a key lever for profitable scaling.
- Waymo had nearly 1,000 Ojai robotaxis staged at its Arizona factory as of last week, currently runs about 500,000 paid rides per week across roughly a dozen cities, and is targeting 1 million weekly rides as it scales.
- Ojai rides are coming next to select riders in Denver, San Diego, and Las Vegas later this year, while Waymo also brings the Hyundai Ioniq 5 online as a second robotaxi platform.
Why it matters: Waymo is willing to absorb a 127.5% Chinese EV tariff and still come out ahead because the Zeekr Ojai plus its under-$20,000 sensor stack costs less than half the Jaguar I-PACE robotaxis being phased out — a concrete signal that China's EV supply chain leads on per-unit cost even when the Chinese software is stripped out and replaced with US hardware.
Ask SkimNews
