There’s a new autonomous vehicle in town, or at least in the towns of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix. Starting today, Alphabet self-driving vehicle developer Waymo will start picking up members of the public in its new Ojai vehicles (pronounced “oh hai”)—pale blue boxy minivans studded with sensors and complete with steering wheels, even though they’re designed to travel without drivers. For now, the rides in these new cars, which can be summoned through Waymo’s app, will be free.
It’s been a long road for the vehicle, first announced by Waymo in 2021 and tested on public streets since 2024. It’s also a weird time for Waymo: The self-driving-vehicle company, which is trying to expand quickly across the US and the world, shut down service in six US cities last week due to issues with how its vehicles react to flooding. It has also suspended its highway driving program due to concerns about operations near construction zones.
WIRED breaks down what’s new and interesting about Ojai, and the complex system that powers it.
Why?
For nearly a decade now, Waymo has tested and deployed its autonomous driving technology in cars designed for human drivers. Waymo began its services with the Chrysler Pacifica hybrid and moved to the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace in 2018. The Ojai, though, is something new: a vehicle built specifically for autonomy.
Ojai’s debut also marks the introduction of Waymo’s newest hardware and software system. The update, Waymo has said, “leverages breakthroughs in AI” and, like previous systems, combines inputs of three different kinds of sensors: cameras, lidar, and radar.
Waymo seems to envision the updated tech as the driver (pun intended) behind its big expansion push. The company currently operates in 11 US markets and plans to launch its service in at least 20 different new regions, including London and Tokyo. The system is “designed for long-term growth across multiple vehicle platforms,” Satish Jeyachandran, the company’s vice president of engineering, wrote earlier this year. He said the new design should allow the company to expand into different environments, including ones with brutal winters—historically a technical challenge for robots.
About the name: Ojai is named after the hippy but upscale Ventura County village known for its arts community.
What’s Different About This One?
Ojai definitely looks different from the Waymos that came before. The cabin is larger and has more legroom than its Jaguar predecessor, and there are charging ports and cup holders. Waymo says the vehicle is more accessible to people with disabilities thanks to flat floors, low step-in height, and grab bars. (The vehicles are not wheelchair-accessible.) Waymo says the vehicle cabin is easier to clean, too. The company says the vehicle’s features should speed up its operational efficiency: It’s quicker to charge and has a modular design that makes repairs easier.
The Ojai is clearly not a normal car, and it is studded with sensors that help it drive on its own: 13 cameras, six radar systems, and four lidar sensors.
Courtesy of Waymo
Who Made This Car?
Here’s where it gets interesting: The Ojai is a modified version of a “mobility platform” made by leading Chinese new-energy vehicle manufacturer Geely. More specifically, the car’s shell is built by Geely sub-brand Zeekr, which has sold cars internationally since 2023 and is now in markets across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Notably absent among Zeekr’s markets: the US, where these Ojai vehicles will operate.
Waymo says the bare-bones vehicles are manufactured in China and then shipped to Waymo’s Arizona facility, where the US-built autonomous systems are added on US soil. Waymo spokesperson Sandy Karp says the company is building toward pumping out tens of thousands of driverless-ready vehicles annually.
Wait—I Thought Chinese Cars Weren’t Allowed in the US?
This is still (kind of) true. Last January, the Biden administration finalized rules barring Chinese- and Russian-connected vehicle tech from US roads starting in 2027. At the time, the US government said that this foreign-connected-car tech represented a national security threat; it didn’t hurt that American carmakers were increasingly threatened by cheap and well-made vehicles manufactured in China. Chinese-made cars are also effectively blocked from the American market by high tariffs.
But the prohibitions don’t apply to Waymo, the company says, because Zeekr only manufactures the “base vehicle” and doesn’t include any telematics or connected software systems, which are added in the US.
Still, the autonomous vehicle developer has received flak from politicians for its involvement with Geely and Zeekr. In a February US congressional hearing, one Republican senator criticized the company for “getting in bed with China.”
Whatever your feelings about the partnership, Ojai’s launch will likely give many US riders their first interactions with Chinese-made cars.
You Say Rides Are Free?
For now, yes. Waymo spokesperson Sandy Karp writes that a period of gratis rides will help the company “gather rider feedback and continue refining the experience.”
But there’s another reason for the free rides, at least in California: Though Waymo has a permit to operate the driverless Ojai vehicles in the state, it doesn’t yet have permission to carry paying passengers inside them. That authorization is still being considered by a state regulator, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which before approving the vehicle asked Waymo to respond to questions about how the company handles unaccompanied minors illegally riding in its cars, plus its approach to major disruptions and natural disasters, like the late 2025 San Francisco power outage that stranded Waymos across the city. The CPUC will make a decision about the Ojai, and about a proposed Waymo expansion into the East Bay and parts of Southern California, by June 27, says CPUC spokesperson Terrie Prosper.
“We are awaiting the CPUC’s permission to charge fares for those rides,” Karp writes.
What’s Next in the ‘Car’ Part of Autonomous Cars?
Waymo is also preparing to add Hyundai Ioniq 5 models to its robotaxi fleet. The vehicles are part of a partnership between Hyundai and Waymo that dates back to 2024. The Jaguar I-Pace will stick around for a while, too.
