January 8, 2026
Snow, pets, and loopholes, oh my!
The Waymo Ojai Will Soon Offer Autonomous Rides Around the U.S.
Fans cheer carpools, skeptics joke about snow, and riders want pet rides and answers on China rules
TLDR: Waymo will add its China-built-but-U.S.-equipped Ojai vans to expand robotaxi rides across more American cities. The crowd is split between excitement and jokes about “no-snow zones,” with loud calls for pet-friendly rides and pointed questions about how the vehicle sidesteps Chinese-car restrictions and whether it’s comfy enough
Waymo just dropped a new robotaxi headliner at CES: the Waymo Ojai, an electric van built by Zeekr in China and kitted out in the U.S. with a sensor crown of 13 cameras, six radar, and four lidar. It’s set to join Waymo’s Jaguars (and upcoming Hyundai Ioniq 5s) as the Alphabet-owned service expands beyond its current hubs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta. The specs—268 horsepower, a big 93-kWh battery, and faster 800-volt charging—had some readers cheering, while others were fixated on the fine print that it isn’t impacted by U.S. rules targeting Chinese-made cars. Waymo told InsideEVs the van’s built-for-Waymo setup sidesteps consumer sales rules.
And the comments? Pure comedy and chaos. One camp is all in on shared rides—“more carpools, please, especially in SF!”—while the cynics dunked with a meme-y forecast: “Autonomous rides… where there is no snow.” Pet parents demanded a dedicated “bring your dog” option, saying that’s literally why they still use Uber. Tech nerds did a double-take at the horsepower, then immediately asked if these will be more comfortable than the Jaguars. The spiciest subplot: what “loophole” lets a China-built van cruise U.S. streets, plus whether those heated, wiper-tipped sensors mean Waymo’s finally ready for nasty Northeast winters. Buckle up—the Ojai rollout is already a comment-section street race
Key Points
- •Waymo will add the Waymo Ojai electric autonomous van, built by Zeekr, to its U.S. robotaxi fleet later this year.
- •The Ojai’s body is manufactured in China and shipped to the U.S., where Waymo integrates its software and sensor suite.
- •The Ojai carries 13 cameras, six radar sensors, and four lidar sensors, with heaters and wipers for adverse weather.
- •Certification documents indicate a rear-mounted motor (268 hp, 252 lb-ft) and a 93-kWh lithium-ion battery, with an 800-volt architecture.
- •Waymo will also deploy modified Hyundai Ioniq 5s; these, along with Ojais, will coexist with Jaguar I-Paces for years.