Alphabet-owned Waymo and auto manufacturing giant Magna International have announced plans to double the production of robotaxis at their new plant in Mesa, Arizona, by the end of 2026. The facility, known as the Waymo Driver Integration Plant, spans 239,000 square feet and is located outside of Phoenix. At this plant, Waymo aims to assemble over 2,000 Jaguar I-PACE robotaxis, which will be added to its existing fleet of around 1,500 self-driving vehicles. When the plant is fully operational, Waymo intends to produce tens of thousands of fully autonomous vehicles annually.
Waymo has ambitious plans for its future production. Later this year, the company will begin assembling its advanced Geely Zeekr RT robotaxis at the Mesa plant. These vehicles will feature the company’s 6th-generation Waymo Driver technology, a key advancement in its efforts to expand the robotaxi service. Since its commercial robotaxi service began in Phoenix in 2020, Waymo has become a dominant player in autonomous vehicle services. The company is currently conducting 250,000 paid, driverless rides per week across its service areas, which include Austin, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. By 2026, Waymo plans to expand its service to Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, D.C.
Despite these achievements, Waymo’s long-term business model remains fluid. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has mentioned that the company has not yet fully defined its business strategy, leaving room for potential future options, including personal ownership of vehicles equipped with Waymo’s technology. A recent partnership with Toyota suggests that the self-driving technology could eventually make its way into consumer-owned vehicles.
As Waymo ramps up its robotaxi fleet, it faces competition from Tesla, which is planning to launch its own robotaxi service in Austin in June. Tesla will use Model Y SUVs equipped with its Unsupervised Full Self-Driving technology. CEO Elon Musk has criticized Waymo’s approach, claiming that its vehicles are far more expensive than Tesla’s, though Waymo’s more advanced sensor suite, including radar and lidar in addition to cameras and sonar, distinguishes its technology from Tesla’s camera-based system. While Tesla has yet to offer fully autonomous vehicles without human oversight, Waymo is already ahead in the robotaxi market and aims to significantly expand its fleet by 2026.
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