The company will launch its ‘retrofitted SUVs’ (not the toaster-like vans) in Phoenix and Dallas, initially focusing on manual mapping.
Amazon’s autonomous robotaxi brand, Zoox, is expanding rapidly to compete with Tesla, Waymo, and other rivals. Today, it announced it’ll begin testing its cars in Dallas and Phoenix.
It already has a presence in Atlanta, Austin, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and Washington, DC. This new expansion brings it to 10 locations, starting with Phoenix, though Zoox has yet to share an exact date for when vehicles will hit the road.
Zoox says these two new areas allow it to test in “sprawling environments,” which it says will help in “differentiating this data from our testing in other dense metro areas like San Francisco.”
It also notes that Phoenix will allow the brand to test sensor and battery performance in extreme heat and under dust on high-speed roads. “Dallas provides a valuable testing ground to refine our AI against diverse weather and complex road networks,” Zoox says.
These vehicles will be “retrofitted SUVs” that initially focus on manual mapping, not the boxy, driverless vans with no steering wheel or pedals.
The brand is set to introduce new depots in both cities for support vehicles, and it plans to build a new command hub in Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s the brand’s third such hub, designed to support operations, provide remote guidance, and offer rider support.
Austin is a common testing ground for autonomous car brands. Waymo offers a comprehensive service there, and it’s where Tesla continues to test its own vehicles. This will add more autonomous-driving options on the roads around Austin for people to try, but it may also cause headaches for residents.
On March 1. a Waymo autonomous vehicle blocked an ambulance that was responding to a mass shooting. Footage posted by TMZ showed the vehicle sitting in the road, unsure what to do, delaying the emergency services crew.
