Inside Waymo’s Robotaxi Factory
- Coralie Englebert
- 11 juin
- 3 min de lecture
Just outside Phoenix, in a 239,000-square-foot factory in Mesa, Waymo is turning electric Jaguars into self-driving supercars and it’s not slowing down anytime soon.
This isn’t your typical car plant. There are no screaming conveyor belts or sparks flying from giant robots. Instead, it’s a sleek, calm, high-tech operation where every white Jaguar I-PACE enters with one mission: to become a next-gen robotaxi, powered by Waymo’s in-house AI brain, radar, lidar, and cameras. By the end of 2025, this facility could be pumping out tens of thousands of these robo-rides every year. Yes, you read that right, tens of thousands.
Right now, these cars are already everywhere in Phoenix, silently pulling up to curbs at the airport, ready to whisk passengers away — no driver, no steering wheel in sight. With new launches in Austin, San Francisco, LA, and soon Atlanta, Miami, and DC, Waymo’s all-electric fleet is scaling fast and Mesa is mission control.
“Our five-year projection made it clear: this place needs to go big,” says Kent Yiu, Waymo’s manufacturing lead and former Apple and GM powerhouse.
And it is. The Mesa plant is laying the groundwork for a robotaxi empire that could soon log millions of rides a week.
Let that sink in: 1,500 cars already drive 250,000 rides a week, roughly 24 rides per car per day. Multiply that by a 10,000-car fleet, and we’re looking at over 1.5 million rides weekly. That’s a $2 billion annual revenue potential, up from an estimated $100 million just last year.
The Factory: Precision, Not Chaos
Walk into the facility and you’ll see a streamlined process. Each car arrives ready with pre-cut panels for sensors, mounting plates for the “top hat” (Waymo’s iconic lidar-and-camera unit), and a carefully designed workflow. Skilled technicians pop off panels, wire up the AI brains, install sensors, and give each vehicle a battery of tests before it hits the road.
The process is meticulous. Each vehicle undergoes calibration checks, test drives, and software uploads to Waymo HQ in Mountain View. On a typical day, the goal is to finish six cars per shift and that number is rising.
Just outside the plant? A secret fleet of more than 2,000 pristine white Jaguars sits ready, basking in the Arizona sun, awaiting transformation.
More Models, More Moves
While the Jaguar I-PACE is the current hero model (Waymo snapped up thousands before Jaguar discontinued it), reinforcements are coming. Two new vehicles are joining the ranks soon:
Zeekr van: A roomy EV from China’s Geely, built for robotaxi life with sliding doors, flat floors, and maximum passenger comfort.
Hyundai Ioniq 5: A futuristic hatchback made at Hyundai’s new Georgia “Metaplant.”
Tariff drama may complicate Zeekr’s U.S. rollout. Trump-era and Biden-era tariffs have soared to 100–145%, forcing Waymo to get creative with import strategies. But even with the costs, Waymo is all-in on expanding its fleet.
Waymo vs. Tesla: The Sensor Showdown
While Tesla’s upcoming “Cybercab” boasts a cheaper build using basic cameras, Waymo is taking no shortcuts. It’s packing its cars with sophisticated, safety-first sensors, high-end lidar, radar, and a custom AI stack built from scratch by Alphabet.
The result? Autonomy that actually works. Waymo’s cars are on real streets, giving real rides, today.
Next Stop: Everywhere
Waymo isn’t just building cars, it’s building the infrastructure for a world where robotaxis are as normal as Ubers. With operations scaling in U.S. cities, and testing underway in Nashville, Tokyo, and beyond, Waymo is positioning itself as the leader in self-driving transport.
And when that fresh-from-the-factory robotaxi rolls out of Mesa, it might drive itself straight to Phoenix’s Sky Harbor airport, ready to pick up its first ride minutes after it’s built. Welcome to the era of AI-powered mobility. The steering wheel? You won’t be needing that anymore.
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