Waymo is also developing its own Zeekr robotaxi

Waymo has spent the past three years refining and testing a minivan-like vehicle developed by Chinese automaker Zeekr. And now, before this robotaxi joins Waymo’s commercial team, it’s getting a new name, the company told TechCrunch.

The Zeekr RT robotaxi will now be called Ojai (pronounced “oh-hi”) – after a village in the Topatopa Mountains above Los Angeles known for its arts community and focus on health.

The explanation for Waymo, spokesman Chris Bonelli, is that the company determined that the US public is not familiar with the Zeekr brand. The signal may extend to the passenger. Apparently, when customers arrive in Ojai, the robotaxi will greet them with “Oh hi” and their name. Beautiful.

Of course, in the US it wouldn’t hurt to drop the Chinese automaker’s name.

For those who didn’t know, Waymo first started a partnership and Geely Holding Group-owned Zeekr in 2021. Waymo unveiled its purpose-built robotaxi concept the following year at a splashy event in Los Angeles. The example based on Zeekr’s SEA-M architecture designed for “future vehicles” such as robotaxis and cargo vehicles.

In particular, the prototype did not have a steering wheel. But Ojai’s, which was shown at CES 2026, does.

Zeekr RT (now Ojai) has gone through a lot of improvements over the years as it has gone through development and testing in cities like Phoenix and San Francisco. Last year at CES, Waymo gave the robotaxi its now-retired name Zekr RT and showed off some of its equipment, including 13 cameras, four lidars, six radars, external satellite receivers, and the smallest wipers you’ve ever seen.

The hardware suite is the same. But the color of the paint has been changed, according to the company. Waymo told TechCrunch the paint color, which used to be blue, is now more silver.

All of these final tweaks have been made ahead of Ojai’s imminent commercial launch. Waymo employees, and their families and friends, are now able to hail a Zeekr van in San Francisco and Phoenix — often one of the last options before it’s available to the public.

Waymo is in the midst of rapid expansion. The company, which offers commercial robotaxi services in Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco, plans to launch in twelve cities next year. Those cities include Denver, Las Vegas, and London.