TL;DR
Waymo's Texas fleet jumped 49% in three weeks to 1,102 vehicles, powered by a Chinese-built Zeekr minivan the company is betting will unlock mass-scale profitability despite steep tariff headwinds.
What happened
- 49% fleet growth in three weeks: Waymo's Texas registered vehicles surged from roughly 740 to 1,102 as of September 24, per Texas Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Tracker data.
- Ojai minivan is the engine: The new vehicle, a modified Zeekr RT branded "Ojai" and built on Geely's SEA-M platform, now makes up about a third of Waymo's Texas fleet.
- National footprint: Waymo operates in 15 U.S. cities, up from 3 in September 2024, with roughly 4,000 total robotaxis averaging 500,000 paid rides per week.
- 80% concentration: California and Texas together hold about 3,200 of those vehicles; the remaining 800 are spread across Arizona, Florida, and newer markets.
- 5,100 Ojai imports projected by year-end, according to MoffettNathanson shipping-record analysis.
Why it matters
- Texas is the new growth frontier: After a static summer (600 vehicles in June, 700 by late August), September's surge signals a deliberate acceleration, not organic drift.
- Ojai is a cost-reduction bet: The minivan's durable interior and shared platform are designed to lower per-vehicle economics and push Waymo toward profitability, but Chinese-origin tariffs are currently erasing those savings.
- Zeekr supply chain is a strategic vulnerability: Base vehicles ship from China without connected-car tech, then get outfitted at Waymo's Arizona factory. Any tariff escalation or trade-policy shift directly hits unit economics.
- Gemini AI integration inside the Ojai ties Waymo's rider experience to Alphabet's broader AI stack, deepening the parent company's commercial stake in the platform.
- Florida and Las Vegas are next in line for Ojai deployments, meaning the 49% Texas spike is a preview of a multi-market wave, not a one-off.
What to watch next
- Whether Waymo hits 5,100 Ojai imports by December: MoffettNathanson is tracking shipments; a shortfall would signal tariff pressure is biting harder than Waymo admits.
- Tariff policy changes: Any new U.S. trade action on Chinese-built vehicles would force Waymo to reprice its scaling strategy or accelerate domestic manufacturing alternatives.
- Florida and Las Vegas fleet registrations: A similar registration spike in those states over the next 60 days would confirm a coordinated national Ojai rollout is underway.
Originally published on Present of AI, a daily source-linked AI news timeline. Read the full timeline or browse the open dataset.