Waymo wants Robotaxi fleet more than double

The leading Robotaxi company Waymo from the Google Group wants to more than double the number of its vehicles in the coming year. With over 1,500 robotaxis, Waymo currently makes more than 250,000 trips with passengers in four US cities per week.

By the end of the next few years, more than 2,000 other Jaguar electric vehicles are to be converted into self-driving cars, as Waymo announced in a blog entry.

In addition, vehicles are to be put into the fleet based on a model of the Chinese car brand Zeek. Over time, the work in Arizona should be able to produce « tens of thousands » self -driving cars a year, it said. Waymo did not name a period of time for this.

Tesla in the starting blocks

Waymo could get a new competitor in June: Tesla wants to start a robotaxi service in Austin Texas with ten to 20 vehicles.

Tesla boss Elon Musk emphasizes that in his view, most new cars of the group have everything necessary to drive autonomously with appropriate software. That is why he announces that millions of self -driving Teslas would soon be on the streets.

However, experts and competitors have doubts. Because Musk only wants to rely on cameras, while Waymo and other Robotaxi developers also use more expensive laser radars that score the surroundings. There are concerns that the cameras could not capture enough information for reliable autonomous driving. Musk rejects that.