Zoox opens first robotaxi production facility in California

Amazon subsidiary Zoox has opened its first full-scale production facility for robotaxis. Located in Hayward, California, the 220,000-square-foot site is expected to assemble more than 10,000 autonomous electric vehicles per year once at full capacity.

The Hayward plant is Zoox’s second production location in the Bay Area, joining its existing facility in nearby Fremont, which is now focused on retrofitted test vehicles and sensor integration. The new factory houses engineering, hardware and software, vehicle assembly, component storage, and final testing, enabling Zoox to scale its custom-designed autonomous EV operations across several US markets.

Production is initially focused on preparing vehicles for commercial deployment in Las Vegas, followed by San Francisco later this year. Additional cities, including Austin and Miami, are expected to follow in the coming years, with Zoox already operating early-access ride programmes and test fleets in selected locations. Public commercial rides are set to begin in Las Vegas before the end of the year.

The 3.63-meter-long vehicle consists of a passenger compartment with room for four people, although the seats can also be removed for use as an autonomous delivery vehicle. The shuttle perceives its surroundings via cameras, radar and six lidar sensors on the roof. A large battery with a capacity of 133 kWh promises 16 hours of continuous operation per charge. For an autonomous vehicle, the e-shuttle can travel quite fast at 120 km/h. However, Zoox Robotaxi is made for urban environments. With all-wheel drive and steerable axles, the Robotaxi can turn almost on the spot and can drive backwards as well as forwards. It was first presented in 2020.

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The robotaxi platform, developed in-house by Zoox, is said to feature a fully symmetrical design and is engineered from the ground up for autonomous operation. The modular architecture enables a streamlined assembly process, supported by a combination of human workers and robotic systems. As Zook explains, Robots perform specialised tasks such as glass adhesive application and autonomous vehicle movement along the production line, while the majority of the work remains manual to ensure quality control.

With the opening of this facility, Zoox is positioning itself as a serious contender in the autonomous EV space. Tesla is also ready to launch its robotaxi service in the US, specifically in Austin, Texas. However, it plans to initially use its Model Y and not the Cybercab. Meanwhile, Alphabet subsidiary Waymo just recently had to recall the majority of its self-driving fleet in the US to fix a software issue.

zoox.com