While driving in downtown San Antonio, a mysterious baby blue vehicle turned MySA’s head. It was decked out with the familiar spinning sensors of a Waymo, but didn’t look like any autonomous vehicle we’d seen before. So, we did some digging and found that the self-driving ride-share service seems to be launching a new type of ride very soon.
Launched late last month, it’s called the Ojai, and it’s currently hail-able in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix “but will expand to additional cities over time, like San Antonio,” a Waymo spokesperson told MySA via email. As for how it will differ from a typical Waymo ride, the “elevator-like” doors slide open into an expansive interior with a low step and flat floor “making it easier to get in and out.”
“The space opens up like a living room on wheels,” the spokesperson said. Riders will also find the same touch screens for temperature and music controls.
The Ojai comes from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Zeekr, which doesn’t currently retail in the United States, though it’s available in Mexico. Despite coming from the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles, Chinese EVs face substantial barriers to entering the U.S. market due to tariffs and opposition from lawmakers and major players in the auto industry. Then there are the regulations on Chinese-developed software and hardware. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a rule early last year restricting the import and sale of certain Chinese- and Russian-manufactured connected vehicles, as well as hardware and software linked to those countries, due to national security risks.
The Waymo Ojai begins as a stripped-down base vehicle manufactured in China, then receives its tech (Waymo’s U.S.-designed LiDARs, radars, cameras and other connectivity) in a facility in Mesa, Arizona. The company says Waymo vehicles contain no Chinese hardware or software, and Zeekr is not the only manufacturer of base vehicles that become Waymo rides. The Jaguar I-PACE and Hyundai IONIQ 5 (built in Georgia) are in the mix, and Toyota is set to join soon.
“Regardless of where the base vehicle is manufactured, the technology that collects data and makes our vehicles autonomous—the software, sensors, and computing systems—is developed and installed by Waymo in our U.S. facilities,” the spokesperson said. “Waymo strongly supports the Department of Commerce’s BIS connected vehicle rule, which addresses potential national security risks from foreign vehicle connectivity systems.”
There’s currently no word on when the Ojai will be available to Waymo riders in San Antonio, but be on the lookout for that specific shade of cornflower blue, as you’re likely to see a lot more of it in the Alamo City.
