Waymo has received regulatory approval for its largest expansion of robotaxi operations to date in California, adding San Diego and Sacramento along with communities across Marin, Napa, Orange and Riverside counties. The approval from the California Public Utilities Commission expands the Alphabet-owned company’s permitted operating area across 18 districts, extending from Sonoma County in the north to San Diego in the south.
The company plans to introduce the newly approved areas gradually, with driverless rides rolled out in phases under a safety-focused deployment approach.
Waymo Expands Across Northern and Southern California
The new approval significantly increases Waymo’s permitted operating footprint around its existing operations in the Los Angeles and San Francisco regions.
In Southern California, the approved area now extends from Santa Clarita and Thousand Oaks to San Diego. In Northern California, the operating area reaches from Sacramento to San Jose.
Waymo submitted its application for the expansion in January. According to the Los Angeles Times, the approval allows the company to more than triple its operating area across the Los Angeles and San Francisco regions.
The newly approved communities will be incorporated into Waymo’s service progressively rather than through an immediate system-wide launch.
New Electric Vehicle Joins Waymo Fleet
The CPUC approval also covers Waymo’s sixth-generation autonomous vehicle, known as Ojai, alongside the company’s existing Jaguar I-Pace robotaxis.
The Ojai is an electric van developed jointly by Waymo and Chinese automaker Zeekr. Zeekr is responsible for producing the vehicle’s chassis and body, while Waymo equips the vehicles with its autonomous driving sensors, computing systems and software.
The new vehicle is expected to complement the Jaguar I-Pace as Waymo expands its commercial operations.
Waymo Fleet Continues to Scale
As of May, Waymo’s fleet consisted of approximately 3,000 battery-electric Jaguar I-Pace vehicles, according to the source.
The expanded regulatory approval provides the company with access to a substantially larger geographic area in California, allowing it to progressively extend driverless ride-hailing services into additional communities.
The expansion also increases the geographic scope in which Waymo can deploy its newer Ojai vehicles, subject to the company’s phased rollout plans and applicable operational requirements.
