Waymo's next-gen Ojai robotaxi opens to all riders in 3 cities
Original: Waymo’s cheaper, next-gen robotaxi is now open to all riders in these three cities
Why This Matters
Scaling to 5,000 Ojais by year-end would mark a major fleet expansion milestone for autonomous ride-hailing.
Waymo has opened its next-gen robotaxi, the Ojai, to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco as of August 19, 2026. Around 300 Ojai vehicles are currently in commercial service, with Denver, Las Vegas, and San Diego expansions planned later this year.
Waymo has made its next-generation robotaxi, the Ojai, available to all riders in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. The Ojai is built on a Zeekr minivan platform — Zeekr being a brand under China's Geely Holding Group — and is equipped with Waymo's sixth-generation self-driving system, a redesigned user interface, and Google's Gemini AI as an in-car assistant. The sixth-gen system is modular and designed to work across multiple vehicle types, which is central to Waymo's commercial scaling strategy. Waymo currently has approximately 300 Ojai robotaxis in its commercial fleet. The company plans to expand the Ojai to Denver, Las Vegas, and San Diego later in 2026. Base Zeekr vehicles are shipped to the U.S. without Chinese connected-car technology and then outfitted with Waymo's self-driving hardware at its Arizona factory. U.S. tariffs on Chinese-built vehicles have added to per-unit costs. Research firm MoffettNathanson estimates Waymo is on track to import 5,000 Ojai vehicles by end of 2026, which would more than double its current Jaguar I-Pace fleet. The Ojai is intended to replace the Jaguar I-Pace as Waymo's primary commercial vehicle, supporting the company's long-term push toward profitability and mass-scale operations across its 11 U.S. city markets.