Waymo just handed select riders in three major cities the keys to something different. The Ojai. A boxy, all-electric minivan conceived in the U.S. but assembled in China. Built not for show but for profit.
It arrives at a tense moment. The company has paused freeway operations in multiple markets after vehicles struggled in construction zones. It recalled thousands of cars over software glitches tied to flooded roads. Yet here comes the vehicle meant to carry the business forward. Cheaper. Tougher. Ready for volume.
The Ojai rides on a modified version of Zeekr’s SEA platform, courtesy of Geely Holdings. Its gondola-style doors slide open like elevator panels. A flat floor and low step make entry simple. Inside, three large adaptive screens dominate. USB-C ports, cup holders, extra legroom, grab bars, even braille labeling. The cabin feels less like a taxi and more like a lounge on wheels. Easier to clean. Faster to charge. Designed to survive the daily grind of commercial service.
Sensors tell part of the story. The sixth-generation Waymo Driver packs 13 cameras, four lidar units and six radar sensors. That’s fewer expensive components than earlier setups. Improved lidar cuts through heavy rain and snow. Upgraded audio receivers pick up sirens and street noise with greater clarity. A removable steering wheel sits ready for early oversight if needed, though the system runs fully driverless.
From Employee Tests to Public Riders
Employees have logged months in these vehicles. Now the public gets a turn. Select riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix can request free trips in the Ojai through the Waymo app. The company plans to widen access in the coming months and roll the model into Denver, Las Vegas and San Diego this summer. Full public availability should follow later in 2026.
Waymo has already placed about 100 Ojai vehicles into its nearly 4,000-car fleet. That number will climb into the thousands by year-end. Production scales at the Mesa, Arizona factory toward annual capacity in the tens of thousands. The goal feels urgent. The company delivers more than 500,000 paid robotaxi rides each week. It has completed over 20 million fully autonomous trips across more than 11 cities. Executives talk of reaching one million weekly trips before 2027.
Ryan Powell, Waymo’s head of design, explained the thinking to CNBC. The familiar form factor, he said, “helps people get over that hump of trying something new.” He pointed to the steering wheel and pedals still visible in early models. Powell also expressed excitement about future AI features, possibly drawing on Google’s Gemini, that could let riders speak naturally to the car. “Tell the car to move up a little further,” he offered as an example.
The Ojai does not replace the Jaguar I-Pace vehicles that still form the backbone of the fleet. It supplements them. Early riders notice the space. One test mentioned fitting six suitcases with room to spare. The ride feels smoother in some conditions. But glitches still occur. Software updates continue.
Cost sits at the center of the strategy. Previous models carried high hardware expenses. The Ojai trims that bill. Modular design allows easier repairs and upgrades. Increased battery capacity reduces charging downtime. Every saved dollar multiplies when thousands of vehicles operate around the clock. Investors have taken notice. A $16 billion capital infusion earlier this year pushed Waymo’s valuation to $126 billion.
Chinese manufacturing raises eyebrows in Washington. Republicans have criticized reliance on Geely. Yet the partnership dates back to 2021. Waymo engineers spent years refining the platform on American roads. Prototypes and production-intent vehicles logged extensive public testing in San Diego and elsewhere. The final product carries Waymo’s own software and sensor stack. Assembly happens in China, integration and final validation in the U.S.
Competitors watch closely. Chinese robotaxi operators such as Baidu’s Apollo Go, WeRide and Pony.ai have expanded faster in some international markets. They operate in Singapore, Dubai and Abu Dhabi while American firms focused at home. A recent Gasgoo report predicted direct clashes with Waymo and Tesla as both sides push abroad. Tesla’s own robotaxi ambitions remain unproven at commercial scale.
Waymo still leads on U.S. roads. Its mapped cities, safety record and rider volume set the pace. But the economics must improve. The Ojai represents that bet. A vehicle purpose-built for the job rather than adapted from a consumer car. One that can handle snow better than predecessors. One that can be produced in the numbers required to turn robotaxis from a science project into a profitable business.
Challenges remain. Regulators, public trust, weather, construction, flooding. The company has shown willingness to pause service when risks rise. Freeway rides stay suspended in several cities while engineers refine performance. That caution has kept the safety record intact. It has also slowed momentum at times.
So the Ojai lands with mixed signals. New riders climb aboard in Los Angeles this week. Engineers monitor every trip. Production lines in Arizona prepare for volume. And somewhere in China, the next batch of chassis takes shape. The age of the purpose-built robotaxi has begun. Whether it delivers the margins Waymo needs will decide how fast the rest of the industry follows.
Recent coverage underscores the stakes. A TechCrunch story published today details the vehicle’s money-focused design and immediate rider access. Waymo’s own blog post confirms the gradual rollout and ties the Ojai to the 6th-generation Driver’s snow-handling upgrades. The conversation on X today reflects curiosity mixed with skepticism about a Chinese-built minivan changing the equation.
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