Amazon's Zoox will increase Robotaxi manufacturing earlier than the beginning of Las Vegas

The Zoox -Robotaxi unit from Amazon increases vehicle production in a new facility in Hayward, California.

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AmazonThe possession of Autonomous Vehicle Start -up -Zoox opened a extensive new production facility in the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday and paved the way for more Robotaxi production, as it later plans a commercial introduction of its fleet this year.

The company will use the location in Hayward, California, to significantly increase its robotaxi fleet. The facility is currently producing a robot taxi per day, but Zoox expects this rate to be accelerated in the coming year.

In full, it will have the ability to put together 10,000 robotaxis a year, with around three robotaxis being produced per hour, the company said. The ZOOX did not provide a schedule for reaching this production level.

“We don't have to run a vehicle every minute because we don't sell these things,” said Aicha Evans, CEO of ZOOX, during a tour on the production floor of the facility.

The zoox needs more of its toaster-shaped robot taxis to roll the assembly line to fulfill its mission, to use a commercial hail service in the US Zoox, which was founded 11 years ago and bought in 2020 by Amazon for $ 1.3 billion, was bought by testing its robotaxis on public roads in 2023.

The company currently has some dozen robotaxis on public roads in Foster City, California, San Francisco and Las Vegas. Zoox expects that he will finally be operated between 500 and 1,000 robotaxis in small to medium-sized cities in which it offers driving sailing services, said Evans.

The facility, which includes 3.5 football fields, is based on a mixture of human technicians and robots to gather the tailor -made vehicles of the Zoox.

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The competition

The zoox rest to catch up alphabet'S Waymo, which has been aggressively extended to new US markets in the United States in recent years, and offers more than 250,000 paid trips in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas in recent years.

Evans said Zoox was “very proud” on Waymo's progress and added that he helps work to do the Zoox and others to provide an autonomous ravage service.

Elon Musks Tesla is ready to start his robotaxi service on June 22nd in Austin, although Musk warned that the date could shift because the company is “super paranoid about security”.

Zoox is preparing to start public trips in Las Vegas, his first commercial market later this year. San Francisco is expected to follow in 2026. Additional locations will come in Austin and Miami in the next few years.

Similar to other driving guards such as Above And LyftZOOX drivers can welcome a robotaxi via an app.

Increase production

In contrast to Waymo, who uses Geely Zeekr Minivans, ZOOX has developed its own custom -made vehicles in the “carriage style” carriage style, in which up to four passengers are looking for themselves and there is no steering wheel. Evans called the robotaxis “high-end computers on wheels”.

Zoox CTO Jesse Levinson previously said that the costs for the development of the tailor -made robotaxis of the Zoox are “significant”. The cost of every vehicle should fall if the Zoox scales its fleet, said Levinson during the tour.

According to Zoox, the new facility that extends about 3½ soccer fields, the first location that “is only devoted to the production of the paid robotaxis” in the USA, is a well -coordinated step in view of the aggressive tariff policy of President Donald Trump. The facility was occupied by the bus manufacturer Gillig before the Zoox's arrival.

About half of the suppliers of the company are located in the USA, but also evaluates some parts from countries, including China and Italy.

Zoox can open additional production facilities in the USA and internationally over time, said Evans.

Zoox has developed its own tailor -made vehicles in the coaching style, in which up to four passengers face each other and there is no steering wheel.

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The facility is located directly opposite the Bay of the Zoox headquarters in Foster City, California. The company also operates a small production facility in Fremont, California, with which its test fleet of retrofitted Toyota Suvs is now compiled and the sensor capsules are configured that sit on its robotaxis and enable them to see them in all directions.

The Hayward facility currently employs around 100 technicians. Zoox also uses robots for certain tasks on the ground, e.g. B. applying adhesive for the installation of glass and transporting the robotaxi from the ward to the station at the assembly line.

As soon as the vehicle is assembled, tests go through tests to the end of the line. This includes a calibration bay to ensure that all cameras and sensors work properly, a station that tests the drive train at high speeds, and then the vehicle takes a “shower” in a simulated rainstorm to check for leaks.

The robot taxis leads several rounds around a test track behind the facility before being seen as “fit for the street”, said Zoox.

Zoox has increased marketing because it is preparing to open its service to the public.

“Because the vehicle looks so different, we have to proclaim ourselves,” said Evans.

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