Waymo has begun operating its latest autonomous driving system on public roads without safety drivers. In the long contest to commercialise robotaxis, the company moves one step ahead of its rivals.

With a cheaper hardware stack, a planned 50,000-vehicle supply deal with Hyundai, and ambitions to exceed one million paid rides per week, this subsidiary from Alphabet, also the parent company to Google, leaves the experimentation phase and moves into industrial scale.

After years of incremental testing, Waymo is now deploying its sixth-generation ‘Driver’ as a fully autonomous system across its commercial network. The company says the new platform, validated over nearly 200 million driverless miles (322 kilometers) in more than ten US cities, is ready to underpin rapid geographic expansion.

Nearly half the number of cameras

The most noticeable progress comes from the simplified hardware. The sensor count has fallen sharply compared with the previous generation: from 29 to 13 cameras, or a drop of 42%. Yet, Waymo claims performance has improved. 

At the heart of the system is a 17-megapixel camera designed to outperform conventional automotive cameras in resolution and low-light performance.

You can see the difference here. Fewer cameras are needed because they are now supported by updated lidar and radar units and custom silicon chips that can process larger data volumes. 

Logically, less hardware also costs less. The company says the price of the sixth-generation technology has fallen to under $20,000 per vehicle (circa €18,000), less than half the cost of its earlier setup.

For different platforms

The reduction matters because this Driver package can more easily be transferred to different platforms and models. Waymo’s fleet currently numbers about 2,500 vehicles, but many of them are ageing Jaguar i-Paces.

That model is no longer in production, leaving Waymo seeking scalable alternatives. As for now, two models are in the pipeline: a purpose-built robotaxi van produced by Zeekr (shipped from China, a remarkable curiosity in the US under the Trump regime) and the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

All-American affair

Hyundai is reportedly lining up deliveries of up to 50,000 Ioniq 5s by 2028. If confirmed, the contract would stand out as one of the largest single-model supply deals in the autonomous-driving industry to date.

Although Hyundai is a South Korean brand, the partnership would effectively be an all-American affair, with the vehicles built at the group’s plant in Georgia. Waymo’s next phase of growth would therefore be anchored in US-based manufacturing.

Thanks to its fast-charging platform and generous interior space, the Ioniq 5 is well-suited to high-intensity fleet operations, where every minute of downtime directly impacts profitability.

1 million rides per week

Waymo’s confidence is backed by growth in ride volumes. The company says it completed 15 million rides in 2025, quadrupling the previous year’s total, and now averages around 400,000 paid trips a week in the US. 

Projections are that the weekly figure will pass one million before the end of the year. New markets are planned in 2026, not only across the US but also internationally in London and Tokyo.

And where is Tesla? For its robotaxi pilots in Austin, the carmaker continues to rely on supervision and has not secured Level 4 certification. Its per-ride costs are lower, yet wait times are longer, and regulators have scrutinised its camera-only approach. Waymo’s multi-sensor system has won broader regulatory approval.

Robotaxi hits a child

Waymo also says that, based on the data collected so far, its vehicles are involved in significantly fewer crashes causing serious injuries than those driven by humans. However, the company made headlines late last month after one of its robotaxis struck a child in a school drop-off zone.

“The child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV toward the school and was struck by the Waymo AV,” said America’s road safety body NHTSA, which has opened an investigation. 

On its blog, Waymo also explained the case: “Our technology immediately detected the individual as soon as they began to emerge from behind the stopped vehicle. The Waymo Driver braked hard, reducing speed from approximately 17 mph to under 6 mph before contact was made.”

The child suffered minor injuries. The robotaxi stopped after the incident, pulled to the side of the road, and awaited police clearance to proceed with its ride.