Zoox, Amazon’s robotaxi subsidiary, has opened a new manufacturing facility in California to build thousands of toaster-shaped self-driving vehicles, the company said on Wednesday.
The opening of the 220,000 square foot facility in Hayward, Calif. paves the way for Zoox to eventually assemble more than 10,000 of its robotaxis each year, the company said. But it may take some time before Zoox runs the facility at capacity, as it has yet to even launch commercial operations.
Zoox, which has been working on self-driving car technology since 2014, began offering rides in pod-like vehicles with no steering wheels or pedals to employees and select invitees in the Bay Area and Las Vegas in 2023.
As Zoox gears up for the commercial launch of its robotaxi service, which it has said is slated for later this year, the company has had to contend with a few hiccups. In April, Zoox pulled 258 vehicles off the streets to update its software after its testing vehicles were involved in two accidents with motorcyclists. NHTSA opened a preliminary investigation after the accidents, though it ended the probe after Zoox issued a software update. In May, Zoox conducted two more recalls—first after an incident in which one of its robotaxis collided with a passenger vehicle in Las Vegas, and later another where a person on a scooter ran into one of its unoccupied taxis.
As it opens its new manufacturing facility, Zoox said that its previous assembly facility in Fremont, Calif. will now be dedicated to retrofitting its testing fleet with its autonomous system and software, as well as for sensor pod configuration. Zoox first took over the building in 2023 and started using the facility for robotaxi assembly at the end of last year. There are about 100 employees currently working out of it, and the company says it is hiring for more manufacturing, engineering, logistics, and operations roles as it plans to scale up its manufacturing.
