Waymo’s newest robotaxi is Chinese-made, built to make money, and now accepting riders

Waymo has begun limited rider testing of its new Ojai robotaxi in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco.

The all-electric vehicle is a modified Zeekr minivan built with Waymo’s sixth-generation sensor suite and aimed at lower-cost deployment.

Developed with Zeekr under Geely ownership, Ojai is designed to help Waymo scale production to tens of thousands of vehicles a year.

The move could reduce operating costs and bring Waymo closer to profitable autonomous ride-hailing.