Meanwhile, Waymo announced a huge new factory in Mesa, the Phoenix area’s second-largest and fastest-growing county. This 239,000-square-foot facility accommodates the company’s strategic move to expand rapidly into the autonomous vehicle market. This facility is located in one of Waymo’s major robotaxi markets. It’s near the current service areas of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin. We’re excited to see the new factory, which is an incredible investment that will help shape the future of autonomous transportation.
As the factory in Mesa goes online, it will become one of the key national integration and production sites. Moreover, it will roll out a fully automated assembly line that greatly improves the production efficiency of vehicles. Once at full capacity, the plant will be churning out hundreds of thousands of completely autonomous vehicles annually. This huge jump will more than triple Waymo’s production.
Waymo and Magna join resources on an ambitious multi-million-dollar plan. As a pair, they intend to build more than 2,000 autonomous I-Pace vehicles at their new manufacturing plant in Arizona. This move is meant to further highlight Waymo’s expansion efforts for both its fleet and strengthening of its service capabilities in multiple urban environments.
Beyond the scale of the production capacity, the factory’s tactical location means vehicles can be quickly deployed close to where they’re needed. Waymo stated that it can deploy vehicles intended for other cities into public service within hours after they arrive at their local depot.
“In fact, these vehicles can pick up their first public passengers less than 30 minutes after leaving the factory.” – Waymo
The factory’s opening greatly advances Waymo’s overarching goal of achieving operational efficiency. It allows the company to further penetrate a competitive autonomous vehicle market. If we take a look at Waymo, they are dramatically increasing their production capacity. Concurrent with that, it’s increasing efficiency of service to accommodate the increased demand.
Still, the opening of this facility represents a major milestone in Waymo’s progress toward the broader rollout of autonomous transportation. With the ability to quickly convert vehicles from production to public service, Waymo is poised to strengthen its position in the rapidly evolving landscape of self-driving technology.
Leave a Reply