Amazon-owned autonomous vehicle company Zoox has opened its first full-fledged production facility, where it expects to one day build 10,000 robotaxis per year.
The Evolution of Zoox
The facility marks the latest step in Zoox’s evolution out of the development phase. The company is currently testing vehicles in multiple U.S. cities and offering rides to early-access participants in Las Vegas. That early-rider program will expand to San Francisco later this year, and Zoox plans to launch paid public rides in Las Vegas this year as well.
Details of the Facility
The 220,000-square-foot factory is located in Hayward, California, near Zoox’s Foster City headquarters. This is the company’s second production facility in the Bay Area, adding to the assembly warehouse in nearby Fremont.
Zoox’s Plans
Zoox says the new factory will be used for engineering, software and hardware integration, assembly, storage, and testing. The Hayward production facility will assemble the custom-built Zoox robotaxis for multiple commercial markets, starting with Las Vegas and then San Francisco. Zoox plans to expand commercial robotaxi operations to Austin and Miami in the coming years.
Innovative Operations
The company states that the facility’s “unique layout and building equipment” will be able to adapt to different vehicle designs as its robotaxi lineup expands in the future. The facility will operate with a combination of human workers and robots, with human workers handling most tasks, while robots will be utilized for specific activities, such as applying adhesive for glass installation and transporting the robotaxi down the assembly line.
