Waymo’s expanding its autonomous fleet in the US amid scrutiny over safety and international ties, keeping it front and center in self-driving wars.
Waymo announced expansion into Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando, increasing its reach to ten US markets. The move aims to surpass 1 million weekly trips by end-2026, with over 400,000 trips already in six cities. Rivals like Tesla and Zoox remain in testing phases.
Motional resumes commercial robotaxi services in Las Vegas with a focus on cost efficiency after restructuring and technological upgrades. Meanwhile, London prepares for autonomous taxis amid complex urban conditions, and safety concerns persist with incidents involving Tesla and Uber vehicles. Industry leaders emphasize AI's potential and challenges.
Over 100 driverless Baidu robotaxis stopped due to system malfunctions in Wuhan, China, causing passengers to be stranded in traffic. No injuries reported. The incident marks the first mass shutdown of autonomous taxis in China, raising safety concerns for the technology's deployment.
Zoox teams up with Uber to deploy self-driving cars in LA next year, while Waymo's driverless vehicle mishap highlights ongoing safety challenges. Tesla's use of driver assistance systems also draws regulatory attention amid industry-wide safety concerns.
Magna is embedding AI across its global supply chain to improve quality, maintenance, safety and efficiency, while Rivian outlines an expanded R2 family and a Georgia factory to scale production; Ford unveils a Long Beach EV development center amid leadership changes in its EV unit, and Toyota is pursuing a privacy-conscious data fabric in its Woven City project.