Waymo’s commercial robotaxi operations have expanded rapidly over the past two years, growing from three U.S. cities in September 2024 to 15 cities today. 

The company now averages about 500,000 paid robotaxi rides each week, but its fleet remains concentrated in a small number of states, with approximately 80 percent of its 4,000 vehicles located in California and Texas.

Texas has become a major area of expansion for the company.

Waymo’s fleet in the state increased by 49 percent over the past three weeks, reaching 1,102 autonomous vehicles as of September 24, according to state registration data and the Texas Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Tracker. 

The increase has been driven largely by the arrival of new minivans, known as Ojai, which now account for about one third of the company’s Texas fleet.

Waymo began commercial operations in Austin in March 2025 through a partnership with Uber and has since expanded into Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. 

The Ojai vehicles are modified Zeekr RT minivans built on a vehicle platform developed by China’s Geely Holding Group. 

They are shipped to the United States without Chinese connected vehicle technology and later fitted with Waymo’s autonomous driving system at the company’s facility in Arizona.

Waymo expects the Ojai to help reduce operating costs and support larger scale operations.

However, tariffs on vehicles manufactured in China are increasing the cost of importing the minivans.

Research firm MoffettNathanson estimates that Waymo could import about 5,100 Ojai vehicles into the United States by the end of the year, with Texas, Florida and newer markets such as Las Vegas among the potential destinations.

Source: TechCrunch