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Waymo is scaling fast. Here’s what the fleet data shows.

1 d ago

Waymo’s commercial robotaxi ramp-up is expanding rapidly in geographic reach and ridership, but a closer look reveals the Alphabet-owned company is concentrating about 80% of its roughly 4,000 autonomous vehicles in just two states—California and Texas—with Texas now surging as the primary growth driver fueled by the new Chinese-built Ojai minivan, even as U.S. tariffs drive up costs. As of September 2024, Waymo operated in only three cities; today it offers robotaxi service across 15 U.S. cities, averaging 500,000 paid rides per week. The fleet in Texas has grown 49% in the past three weeks, reaching 1,102 registered autonomous vehicles by September 24, according to state data and the Texas Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Tracker. Waymo launched commercial service in Austin via Uber in March 2025 and has since expanded to Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. The surge is driven by an influx of the Ojai minivan—a modified Zeekr RT built on Geely’s SEA-M platform—which now accounts for about a third of Waymo’s Texas fleet. Equipped with Waymo’s sixth-generation self-driving system and Google’s Gemini AI, the Ojai is designed for mass scale and durability. However, the base vehicles are shipped from China without connected-car tech, then outfitted at Waymo’s Arizona factory. Under current U.S. trade policy, steep import tariffs on Chinese-built vehicles raise Waymo’s costs, but the company appears willing to absorb them. MoffettNathanson estimates Waymo is on track to import 5,100 Ojai units by year-end, with Texas, Florida, and Las Vegas likely receiving the bulk of the new fleet.