Alphabet-backed Waymo plans to add two new vehicles to its robotaxi fleet in the near future, including a roomier four-seater the company is calling the “Ojai,” named after a small southern California city.
The two cars will be integrated with Waymo’s sixth-generation AI driver, which will have a reduced sensor suite.
Sandy Karp, a Waymo spokesperson, took Business Insider through a walkthrough of the new robotaxis during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Check out the new fleet.
Waymo has two new vehicles in the pipeline: a modified Chinese EV and a Hyundai IONIQ 5.
The Ojai, pictured on the left, is an EV made by Chinese Tesla rival Zeekr.
Karp told Business Insider that Waymo aims to launch Ojai for public riders by 2026. The company has been testing the vehicle in several cities, including San Francisco.
Waymo will also be adding the Hyundai IONIQ 5 SUV to its vehicle lineup.
The robotaxi company announced a “multi-year, strategic partnership” with the South Korean automaker in late 2024.
A launch date for the IONIQ 5 Waymo has not been announced.
There’s no mention of the Chinese EV company on the Waymo Ojai.
Waymo took a deliberate step in removing any Zeekr branding on the Ojai, going as far as adding a Waymo-branded center cap on the wheels.
“We want people to see and recognize the same trust that they built in Waymo when they look at these vehicles,” Karp said. “What we found is people aren’t as familiar with the Zeekr brand. So by naming it the Ojai, we’re hoping to bring some of that same brand trust and familiarity to the rider experience.”
Karp said Waymo chose Ojai as a nod to the company’s roots in California and to “inspire a sense of tranquility.”
The Ojai seats four riders, but could fit five in the future.
The Ojai is shaped like a minivan but only seats four riders.
Karp said that the Ojai is “quite roomy” and will have “ample storage in the trunk.”
“Once you get in, it is so spacious,” she said. “I’m not the tallest person in the room, but when I sit in the Ojai, I can really lean back, relax, stick my feet out. It feels like you’re riding in first class.”
She added that, as regulations change, there could be an opportunity to remove the steering wheel, allowing for another rider.
The sixth-generation Waymo Driver will have 13 cameras, four lidars, six radars, and audio receivers.
Waymo’s sixth-generation AI driver will have a reduced sensor suite.
The fifth-generation Waymo Driver, which drives the existing fleet of Jaguar I-PACE SUVs, has 29 cameras, six radars, and five lidars.
“Basically, we’ve taken our learnings from driving over a hundred million fully autonomous miles to inform our next generation sensor suite,” she said. “So simplified, cost-effective design that’s able to scale to more cities, especially with diverse weather conditions.”
Karp told Business Insider that advancements in sensor technology allow Waymo to reduce the number of sensors.
The new lidar, for example, has “higher density,” or the ability to see further, the spokesperson said.
The sensor suite is also considerably less clunky.
The sensors on the roof of the Jaguars are stacked like a tiered wedding cake. The next-generation sensor suite removes the tier and integrates the 360-degree cameras more seamlessly.
Waymo’s sensor suite is accompanied by sensor cleaning tools.
Several sensors attached to the sixth-generation Waymo Driver also come with sensor-cleaning mechanisms, including tiny windshield wipers and hidden spray nozzles.
These additions will help the new Waymo Driver perform in harsher weather conditions.
The Hyundai IONIQ 5 shares a similar profile to Waymo’s Jaguar.
The Hyundai IONIQ 5 shares some resemblance to Waymo’s retrofitted Jaguar.
Both cars are white, all-electric SUVs that seat four people. Business Insider took a ride in an IONIQ 5 with Motional, Hyundai’s robotaxi venture, and found that the space inside the vehicle is similar to the I-PACE.
The IONIQ 5 will also share the same sensor suite with the Ojai, but will have a variance as to where the sensors are attached. The Hyundai at CES was a show car rather than the actual car that will be on the roads.
Karp could not speak to the number of IONIQs and Ojais Waymo plans to roll out for the initial launch.
The new vehicles will eventually replace the old Jaguars.
Just like any other car, robotaxis don’t last forever.
Over time, Waymo will replace the Jaguars with the Hyundai and Ojai, Karp said, “because you can only have a car running for so long.”
Karp said that Jaguar discontinued the I-PACE.
“We’ve always worked with several OEMs, so it allows us to scale our fleet,” she said.
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