Waymo Expands Rapidly with Fleet Heavily Concentrated in California and Texas
Yahoo Finance ·
Alphabet-backed Waymo is aggressively scaling its commercial robotaxi operations, now operating in 15 U.S. cities and completing 500,000 paid rides weekly. Despite this broad geographic footprint, approximately 80% of its roughly 4,000 vehicles are heavily concentrated in California and Texas. Texas has emerged as a major growth engine, with the fleet surging 49% over a three-week period to reach 1,102 registered autonomous vehicles by September 24. This recent expansion is largely driven by the deployment of the new Ojai minivan, a modified Zeekr vehicle built on Geely's platform and outfitted with Waymo's sixth-generation autonomous system at its Arizona facility. While the Ojai aims to lower operational costs and drive profitability, steep U.S. import tariffs on Chinese-built vehicles are currently offsetting expected savings. Nevertheless, shipping records indicate Waymo remains on track to import 5,100 such vehicles by the end of the year.
AI 시장 분석
Waymo is expanding its service area to 15 U.S. cities, recording 500,000 paid rides per week. In particular, the introduction of Ojai minivans based on Geely's Zeekr in Texas has driven a 49 percent surge in vehicles over the past three weeks. Despite increased import costs due to tariffs, the company is continuing large-scale expansion backed by the massive financial power of its parent company, Alphabet, causing a major ripple effect in the autonomous driving and mobility markets.
상승 영향
- AI — Google's Gemini AI is being integrated into Waymo's next-generation Ojai robotaxi for infotainment and passenger assistance, accelerating AI commercialization and the acquisition of real-world usage data.
하락 영향
- EVs — Import costs are surging and profitability is under pressure due to high U.S. tariffs imposed during the import process of minivans based on China's Zeekr.
DYAX 전담 분석
With Waymo's robotaxi fleet expanding to 4,000 vehicles and achieving 500,000 paid trips per week, the pace of commercializing autonomous driving is sharply accelerating. In particular, the surge in the number of vehicles following the introduction of Ojai minivans in Texas proves scalability, while the integration of Google Gemini AI has also strengthened technological competitiveness.
The bullish scenario is overcoming tariff burdens, achieving economies of scale, and securing a monopolistic position in the robotaxi market, whereas the bearish scenario is the delay in profitability improvement due to prolonged high tariffs from U.S.-China trade conflicts and vehicle risks. Key indicators to watch are the growth rate of registered vehicles and import cost trends in major hubs like Texas.
AI가 생성한 분석으로 투자 자문이 아닙니다.
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