Waymo reaches 15 U.S. robotaxi cities as Texas fleet passes 1,100
Ojai minivans drove a 49% rise in Texas registrations in three weeks, even as weekly paid rides held at 500,000
Waymo’s commercial robotaxi service had reached 15 U.S. cities by Sept. 24, up from three cities two years earlier, while its Texas vehicle base rose sharply on the arrival of Ojai minivans. The company averaged 500,000 paid rides a week across its network.
Fleet data reviewed by TechCrunch showed that Waymo had about 4,000 robotaxis nationally. Roughly 80% were in California and Texas, making the two states the company’s central operating bases as it added most of its commercial-city launches during the preceding year.
Texas had 1,102 autonomous vehicles registered to Waymo as of Sept. 24. That represented a 49% increase in three weeks, after the state fleet had risen from about 600 vehicles in June to more than 700 at the end of August.
The September acceleration was driven by deliveries of the Ojai, a modified Zeekr RT minivan equipped with Waymo’s sixth-generation self-driving system. The vehicles accounted for about one-third of the Texas fleet. Waymo began commercial service in Austin through Uber in March 2025, enabling passengers to hail its vehicles in the Uber app, and subsequently expanded its Texas service to Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
The Ojai was designed for heavy use and has an upgraded rider interface and Google’s Gemini AI as an in-car assistant. It is built on Zeekr’s SEA-M platform, while Waymo fits its autonomous-driving technology at its Arizona factory after the base vehicles are shipped to the United States without Chinese connected-car technology.
Waymo has described the minivan as a route to lower costs and profitability, although tariffs on Chinese-built vehicles raise the cost of each import. MoffettNathanson projected in September that Waymo was on track to import 5,100 Ojais into the United States by the end of 2026. Florida and newer markets including Las Vegas were identified as likely destinations for further vehicles.
The network’s geographical expansion has outpaced the growth in its stated headline ride total. In March, Waymo was already reporting 500,000 paid weekly rides across 10 cities, compared with 50,000 a week in May 2024. Its weekly volume had therefore increased tenfold in less than two years, even before the latest five-city expansion.
Waymo’s fleet outside California and Texas comprised about 800 vehicles, including operations in Arizona and Florida. Most were white Jaguar I-Pace electric SUVs, though Ojai minivans were increasingly joining them. The company’s growth has also occurred amid scrutiny: as of March, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were investigating Waymo vehicles over alleged illegal behavior around school buses, while San Francisco officials had raised concerns over stranded robotaxis requiring help from police or firefighters.