Amazon's Self-Driving Company Zoox Plans To Test Robotaxi In California

Zoox’s vehicle, called VH6, has room for four passengers, with two facing each other, a layout that looks like start-up Cruise's Origin vehicle unveiled in January, 2020

Amazon.com’s self-driving technology firm Zoox has said that it is gearing up to launch its robotaxi business, according to a report by Reuters.

Zoox mentioned that its its robotaxi business is self-certifying, its vehicle has no pedals or steering wheel and meets US federal regulations. Zoox is also applying for a permit in California to test-drive it.

Jesse Levison, Zoox’s co-founder and chief technology officer, said, “We really invested the extra time and resources to build a vehicle that doesn’t require exemptions and then that basically lets us control our own destiny and also deploy our vehicles at scale.”

According to the report, Zoox’s vehicle, called VH6, has room for four passengers, with two facing each other, a layout that looks like start-up Cruise's Origin vehicle unveiled in January, 2020. Cruise is controlled by General Motors Company.

The product VH6 is made in Zoox’s ‘Kato’ facility in Fremont, California, a city where Tesla also builds its cars.

Levinson said the factory has produced dozens of VH6s and the current unit can produce tens of thousands of vehicles. "The current economic slowdown has not affected the company and Zoox will increase its employee number to 2,000 this year from 1,400 at the start of the year," he said.

According to him, the company is now focused on moving people, rather than packages, which is much more lucrative. “We can compete with, for example, Uber and Lyft and make money and be very cost competitive even in the early days of this technology,” he added.

Generally self-driving tech firms with vehicles without a steering wheel or pedals have applied to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for an "exemption."

Levinson said Zoox chose instead to self-certify according to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, acknowledging this was a higher bar that makes Zoox liable for the safety of the vehicle.

The NHTSA exemption usually limits the number of vehicles that can be manufactured as well as the period of production.

Meanwhile, Nuro, a self-driving start-up backed by SoftBank, said it anticipates its next generation vehicle to “comply with all applicable federal standards at the time that it is deployed”.

Its current R2 vehicle with no pedals, steering wheel, and room inside only for packages, were manufactured with an exemption from NHTSA.

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