Waymo’s commercial autonomous vehicle rollout is showing rapid growth in both geographic reach and rider volume. In September 2024, the Alphabet-backed company operated in only three cities: Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Today, Waymo provides robotaxi services in 15 U.S. cities, with the majority of those expansions occurring within the last twelve months. Weekly paid rides have climbed to an average of 500,000, reflecting the scale typical of a well-funded tech giant.
However, an analysis of fleet data reveals that Waymo is heavily concentrating its operations in just two states. Approximately 80% of its roughly 4,000 autonomous vehicles are located in California and Texas. Texas has become the primary hub for recent growth, with the state’s fleet increasing by nearly 49% over the past three weeks. This surge is largely attributed to the deployment of a new minivan manufactured in China, which Waymo hopes will facilitate scaling even as trade tariffs increase operational costs.
The remaining 800 vehicles are distributed across other states, including Arizona and Florida, both of which are emerging as significant markets. While the majority of these vehicles remain the familiar white Jaguar I-Pace electric SUVs, the proportion of the new minivan—known internally as the “Ojai” and based on a modified Zeekr RT—is steadily rising.
Waymo’s continued focus on California aligns with its Silicon Valley headquarters and its history of early-stage testing in the region, where consumer adoption of new technologies tends to be high. In contrast, the company’s expansion into Texas presents a more dynamic trajectory. Data from the Texas Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Tracker indicates that as of September 24, 1,102 autonomous vehicles were registered in the state.
Commercial operations began in Austin in March 2025 through a partnership with Uber, allowing users to hail rides via the Uber app. Service has since extended to Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. After a relatively slow summer that saw the fleet grow from roughly 600 vehicles in June to over 700 by late August, September brought a sharp increase. The influx is driven by new Ojai minivans, which now constitute about a third of Waymo’s Texas fleet and are expected to grow in number.
Equipped with Waymo’s sixth-generation self-driving system, the Ojai is designed to support mass-scale operations. Its interior is reinforced for durability, featuring an upgraded rider interface and Google’s Gemini AI as an in-car assistant. Stripped of its proprietary technology, the vehicle is a Zeekr minivan built on the SEA-M platform, a shared architecture also used for delivery vans. These base vehicles arrive in the U.S. without Chinese connected-car systems and are sent to Waymo’s factory in Arizona for the installation of its autonomous driving hardware and software.
Although the Ojai is intended to lower costs and drive the company toward profitability, current U.S. tariffs on Chinese-built vehicles are offsetting those savings. Despite this, Waymo appears committed to the strategy. Research firm MoffettNathanson reported in September that Waymo is on track to import 5,100 Ojai vehicles by the end of the year.
While Texas will absorb a significant portion of this new inventory, Florida—where Waymo currently operates in three cities—and newer markets such as Las Vegas are also expected to see an influx of the new minivans.
The Ojai looks practical for families, but I hope the durability upgrades actually hold up under heavy commercial use.
Texas fleet jumping 49 percent in three weeks is wild. I never thought Austin would become such a major robotaxi hub.
Fifty thousand weekly rides is impressive. But relying on Chinese manufacturing despite tariffs seems like a risky cost bet.