Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN.O) self-driving technology company Zoox said on Tuesday that it was preparing to launch its robotaxi service, self-certifying that its vehicle, which has no pedals or a steering wheel, complies with federal laws in the United States, and that it had applied for a permit in California to test drive it.
According to Jesse Levison, co-founder and chief technology officer of Zoox, "We actually committed the extra time and money to design a vehicle that doesn't require exemptions and that basically enables us control our own destiny and also deploy our cars at scale."
Zoox's VH6 features space for four passengers, two of whom are facing each other. This configuration is similar to that of startup Cruise's Origin vehicle, which was presented in January 2020. General Motors Co. controls cruise (GM.N).
The VH6 is made at Zoox's "Kato" facility in Fremont, California, which is also where Tesla makes its automobiles.
According to Levinson, the plant has built hundreds of VH6s and its present facility has the capacity to build tens of thousands of vehicles.
He claimed that the present economic recession had not had an impact on the business and that Zoox will raise its personnel count from 1,400 at the beginning of the year to 2,000 this year. Levison added that the firm is now concentrating on transporting people rather than items because the latter is far more lucrative.
Even in the early stages of this technology, "We can compete with, for example, Uber and Lyft and generate money and be extremely cost competitive," he stated.
Self-driving technology companies have often requested a "exemption" from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for their cars. In contrast, Levinson said Zoox opted to self-certify in accordance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, admitting that this was a stricter requirement and that doing so made Zoox responsible for the vehicle's safety.
The NHTSA exemption often places a cap on both the volume and duration of vehicle manufacturing.
Cruise requested an NHTSA exemption this year. According to a person close to the business, Cruise thought that approach was more responsible and gave regulators a better understanding of the technology.
In the meanwhile, SoftBank-backed self-driving company Nuro stated that it expects its next model to "comply with all applicable government standards at the time that it is deployed". Its current R2 vehicle, which has no pedals, a steering wheel, and just room inside for deliveries, was produced with an NHTSA exemption.
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