Waymo plans Madrid launch as report cites 20,000-car goal

Waymo plans to grow its driverless fleet fivefold, from about 4,000 vehicles now to 20,000 by the end of 2027, Semafor reported on Monday, Oct. 19, citing people familiar with the matter. The Alphabet ↘ 2.23% self-driving unit also wants to reach 8,000 cars by the end of this year. That would double its fleet in under three months, according to Semafor.ground.news

The plan would be paid for in part with the $5 billion Waymo recently borrowed. It also shows how much the company is relying on Chinese-built vehicles to scale up. Waymo declined to comment on the figures, according to the New York Post, and it has not confirmed the targets.digitaltoday.co.kr

Debt-funded growth

Waymo closed a $5 billion term loan on Oct. 8, its first debt financing. PIMCO, Blackstone ↘ 0.26% and Sixth Street led the lenders, and Goldman Sachs ↗ 0.95% was sole lead bookrunner, the company said. Waymo said the money "will accelerate the continued expansion of our fully autonomous ride-hailing service across the United States and internationally". According to Semafor, Alphabet did not guarantee the loan, and its terms let Waymo borrow more later by securitizing leases on its fleet. The loan comes on top of a $16 billion equity round earlier this year.gizmodo.com+2

Leaning on Zeekr's Ojai

Much of the new fleet will be the Ojai, a powder-blue van built by Zeekr, a unit of Geely Automobile. Waymo imports the vehicle shells from China and installs its own sensors and software at a facility in Arizona, the New York Post reported. Waymo is on pace to import about 5,100 Ojais by the end of this year, according to the Post, which cited data from research firm MoffettNathanson. The Ojais are replacing a fleet made up mostly of Jaguar I-Pace SUVs, and they already carry riders in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix. Hyundai has also said it plans to build "tens of thousands" of Ioniq 5 robotaxis for Waymo.finance.yahoo.com+1

The Zeekr deal has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers. Commerce Department rules ban Chinese connected-vehicle and self-driving software starting with the 2027 model year, and a similar ban on hardware is expected in 2030. Waymo told the Post it "strongly supports" those rules and the related bills in Congress.nypost.com

New markets

The bigger fleet would serve a growing list of cities. Waymo operates in 15 U.S. cities. On Tuesday, Oct. 20, it said it plans to launch fully autonomous rides in Spain's Madrid region in 2027. Jaguar I-Pace vehicles will begin manual driving there "in the coming days". Madrid joins earlier international plans for London, Tokyo and Singapore.ground.news+3