Waymo Fleet Nears 4,000 Robotaxis as Texas Expansion Accelerates

Waymo’s robotaxi operation has expanded rapidly across the United States, but its fleet remains heavily concentrated in just two states. About 80% of the company’s roughly 4,000 autonomous vehicles are operating in California and Texas, even as Waymo pushes into a growing number of markets.

The Alphabet-owned company offered commercial robotaxi service in Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco in September 2024. It now operates in 15 U.S. cities and is averaging about 500,000 paid rides a week.

The remaining roughly 800 vehicles outside California and Texas are spread across markets including Arizona and Florida. Most of Waymo’s fleet consists of white Jaguar I-Pace electric SUVs, but the company is increasingly deploying a modified Zeekr RT minivan that it calls Ojai.

Waymo’s Texas fleet is growing quickly

Texas has become one of Waymo’s fastest-growing markets. The company’s fleet in the state increased 49% over three weeks, according to vehicle registration data and the Texas Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Tracker.

As of Sept. 24, Waymo had 1,102 autonomous vehicles registered in Texas. That follows a relatively gradual increase over the summer, when the fleet rose from about 600 vehicles in June to more than 700 by the end of August.

The pace changed sharply in September as more Ojai minivans entered the state. The newer vehicles now account for about one-third of Waymo’s Texas fleet.

Waymo entered commercial service in Austin through a partnership with Uber in March 2025, allowing customers to request its robotaxis through the Uber app. The company has since expanded service into Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

Ojai is central to Waymo’s scaling plans

The Ojai is equipped with Waymo’s sixth-generation self-driving system and is intended to support a larger commercial rollout. Its cabin is designed for repeated passenger use and includes an updated rider interface along with Google’s Gemini AI as an in-car assistant.

Underneath Waymo’s autonomous driving technology, the vehicle is based on the Zeekr RT. Zeekr is owned by China’s Geely Holding Group, which also owns Volvo, and the vehicle uses Zeekr’s SEA-M platform developed for applications including robotaxis and delivery vans.

The base vehicles are shipped to the United States without Chinese connected-car technology. After they arrive, Waymo sends them to its Arizona factory, where it installs its autonomous driving system.

Waymo expects the Ojai platform to help reduce costs as it works toward operating at greater scale. For now, vehicles built in China face significant U.S. import tariffs, increasing the cost of each Ojai brought into the country.

Those added costs do not appear to be slowing imports. New York research firm MoffettNathanson, which tracks Ojai shipments using shipping records, said in its September report that Waymo is on pace to import 5,100 of the vehicles into the U.S. by the end of the year.

California and Texas remain the centre of the fleet

Waymo’s large California presence reflects the company’s history in the state. It is headquartered in Silicon Valley, and much of its early autonomous vehicle development and testing took place there.

Texas, however, is emerging as a major expansion market as Waymo adds vehicles at a much faster rate. The growth also provides an early indication of where the company may deploy more of its Ojai fleet as imports increase.

Florida, where Waymo operates in three cities, is another expanding market, while newer locations such as Las Vegas could also receive more vehicles. Even with its widening geographic footprint, Waymo’s current fleet data shows that California and Texas remain the core of its commercial robotaxi deployment.