- Pioneering autonomous driving and ride-hailing firm, Waymo, has announced its intentions to further scale its U.S. fleet of autonomous taxis.
- Already operating in cities such as Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, with more locations on the horizon, there is a key need for Waymo to increase the number of autonomous EVs within its fleet.
- Whilst the Jaguar I-PACE may have already been discontinued, Waymo are still planning for this model to form a key part of its future fleet – but with I-PACE stock eventually running dry, Waymo now has a second option on the horizon.
Waymo to build another 2,000 autonomous EVs through into 2026
Waymo is already carrying out 250,000 trips weekly across the four U.S. cities it currently operates in, but with Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C. set to enter its network from 2026, the number of autonomous EVs required is set to surge. With that in mind, the firm has announced that over 2,000 more autonomous I-PACEs will be created at its new Waymo Driver integration plant in Mesa, Arizona, a large facility that comes in at a footprint of 239,000 square feet.
After Waymo just received its last order of Jaguar I-PACEs (with the model recently being discontinued), the firm will need to look towards another model to add to its fleet – but it looks like Geely-owned Zeekr can provide the solution. From later this year, Waymo will introduce the Zeekr RT into its fleet, a customised version of the Zeekr Mix EV which is designed specifically for autonomous usage. Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 is another EV recently announced to be joining Waymo’s fleet.
At full production capacity, the Mesa site is poised to produce tens of thousands of fully-autonomous vehicles a year, which further highlights Waymo’s ambitions in the years to come.
Ryan McNamara, Vice President of Operations at Waymo, commented:
“The Waymo Driver integration plant in Mesa is the epicenter of our future growth plans. With our partners at Magna, we’ve opened a manufacturing site that enables the cost efficiency, flexibility, and capacity to scale our fleet to new heights.”
Katie Hobbs, Governor of Arizona, added:
“The new Waymo and Magna manufacturing facility in Mesa is the latest example of Arizona being the new home for technology to innovate and grow. I’m proud to see autonomous vehicles on our streets every day, helping get people where they need to be safely. The new manufacturing facility will enhance this presence, and the local jobs it’s creating will help Arizona’s tech economy continue to rise on the world stage.”
