Amazon-backed autonomous vehicle developer Zoox announced the opening of its first robotaxi production facility in Hayward, California, marking a key milestone as it prepares to launch a commercial robotaxi service in the U.S.
The 220,000-square-foot facility will assemble purpose-built, fully autonomous vehicles and is capable of producing over 10,000 units annually at full capacity. Zoox did not specify its initial production targets but said demand expectations for its upcoming commercial launches justified the production scale-up.
Zoox is currently testing more than 20 vehicles across several U.S. cities and plans to begin public rides in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood soon. It intends to formally launch commercial services in Las Vegas later this year, followed by an expansion in San Francisco. “This expansion, plus the anticipated demand once rides open up to the general public, and additional market entrances in the coming years warrants this increase in robotaxi production,” the company said.
Zoox differentiates itself from rivals with a vehicle built from the ground up for autonomy—featuring no steering wheel or pedals. This design contrasts with competitors like Alphabet’s Waymo, which retrofits existing cars with autonomous systems, and Tesla, which will initially use Model Y SUVs running its self-driving software. Tesla plans to unveil its dedicated two-seat “Cybercab” robotaxi on June 22.
The robotaxi race faces major hurdles, including regulatory scrutiny, high operational costs, and safety concerns. Like Waymo and Tesla, Zoox has dealt with federal investigations and recalls related to vehicle collisions. Despite the challenges, competition is heating up as these players aim to dominate the nascent robotaxi market.
