Waymo’s new robotaxi is certain to be a game changer for the over-packers.
Waymo, Alphabet’s robotaxi company, said on Thursday that it will start giving select riders access to its new baby-blue vehicle, the Ojai, in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles over the next several weeks.
The Ojai — pronounced “Oh-hi” — has a more spacious interior, though it fits the same number of passengers as Waymo’s four-seater Jaguar. The vehicle also features customizations that will improve riders’ control over their experience, Waymo said.
The electric minivan will be the first new vehicle added to Waymo’s public fleet, which has so far consisted entirely of Jaguar I-PACE SUVs.
Lloyd Lee/BI
We (Business Insider reporters Lloyd Lee and Rya Jetha) took a spin in the Ojai with a Waymo spokesperson last Friday in San Francisco to experience the new robotaxi for ourselves.
The ride was remarkably roomy, even though the car paused twice in the Mission Bay neighborhood and had to connect to rider support. We brought six suitcases to test how much luggage the Ojai could handle, and were surprised by how much space was left over.
Waymo said it plans to launch the Ojai in more cities, including San Diego, Las Vegas, and Denver, later in the summer. A Waymo spokesperson told Business Insider that the company will start with 100 Ojais across cities for public rides.
Waymo’s Ojai robotaxi is unlike any other car
The Ojai looks unlike any other car on US roads.
Geely, a Chinese EV company, manufactures the car, which is then retrofitted with Waymo’s proprietary sensors and AI driver.
Being inside the Ojai feels like cruising around in a small Sprinter van. The legroom is cavernous, the interior is plush, and the doors open carriage-style, similar to those on Waymo’s Amazon-owned competitor, Zoox.
The driver’s seat still has a steering wheel, though the passenger control screens are larger, and the windshield offers a wider view of the road.
The Ojai is the first robotaxi to feature Waymo’s sixth-generation AI driver, which allows for fully autonomous operations in snowier cities and has a smaller sensor suite than previous software packages. While Waymo’s Jaguars have five lidars, six radars, and 29 cameras, the Ojais have…
Read More: Waymo Launches Spacious Ojai Robotaxi in Major Cities. We Tested It.
