Get ready to see a lot more driverless Waymos on the road.
Semafor is reporting that Waymo plans to use some of its newly secured funding to rapidly expand its robotaxi fleet over the next 14 months, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Alphabet-owned company reportedly wants to grow its fleet fivefold, from roughly 4,000 vehicles today to 20,000 by the end of 2027. By the end of this year alone, Waymo aims to have 8,000 vehicles, doubling its fleet in less than three months.
The news comes less than two weeks after Waymo announced that it had secured a $5 billion loan, marking its first debt financing and what the company called an “important step in our evolution into a scaling commercial enterprise.”
Waymo also raised $16 billion from investors earlier this year. The company said the new financing would help accelerate the expansion of its driverless ride-hailing service across the United States and around the globe.
Waymo currently operates in 15 U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Just last week, the company opened its service to everyone in San Antonio, San Diego, and Tampa.
Waymo has announced plans to expand to London and Tokyo, and on Tuesday, it revealed that it’s also headed to Madrid, where it hopes to begin offering rides in 2027.
A major part of Waymo’s expansion plans involves importing thousands of Chinese-made electric vehicles.
The New York Post reported Monday, citing data from research firm MoffettNathanson, that Waymo is on pace to import roughly 5,100 Ojai vehicles by the end of this year.
Source link







