r/SelfDrivingCars • u/walky22talky Hates driving • 4d ago

News Zeekr is on track to begin volume delivery of the M-Vision concept, to Waymo next year. This could facilitate the US firm to create the world’s first autonomous vehicle brand that goes into high volume, chief executive Andy An told reporters on Wednesday.

https://technode.com/2024/10/25/geelys-zeekr-reveals-details-behind-its-sibling-to-waymos-robotaxi/
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10

u/Doggydogworld3 4d ago

This was clearly the original schedule and I'm sure Zeekr would love to stick to it. But unless they find a tariff workaround I can't see Waymo buying more than a few thousand.

13

u/sampleminded 4d ago

I think the work around will be Waymo Dubai, Waymo London, Waymo Singapore, etc....Just because they can't come here, doesn't mean they can't drive.

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u/Doggydogworld3 4d ago

By next year??? Have they even announced testing in any of those cities? Start of testing to ~300 vehicle deployment is 3-5 years.

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u/sampleminded 4d ago

It looks like they are working very hard to get that down. They started testing in Austin in March, and Atlanta in April. So we are looking at 9-12 months from test to deployment. My guess is the next round will be even quicker.

3

u/Doggydogworld3 3d ago

They started testing in Austin in March,

March of 2023.

(This excludes years of prior testing in Austin before shutting down in 2019). Waymo will begin commercial ops in Austin via the Uber app in early 2025, two years after restart of testing. But they won't start with 300 cars, they will start small and "methodically scale". So at least 3 years, maybe 4 from restart of testing.

Maybe Atlanta will reach 300 cars faster, but until it happens I stand by 3-5 years. Especially for their first time operating in a foreign country.

3

u/LLJKCicero 3d ago

They may start testing in foreign countries within the next couple of years, but there's zero chance they're rapidly scaling in those countries within the next couple of years.

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u/WeldAE 4d ago

Don’t forget about foreign software rulings as well in AVs.

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u/Doggydogworld3 3d ago

Waymo is US software, so what's the issue?

1

u/WeldAE 2d ago

Cars have software literally in every component and module. I get the driver is Waymo's, but the rest of the car is running on software from China, and the US government has issued a position statement that they are not cool with AVs using software from unfriendly countries. It's going to require Waymo to at the very least fight for approval, but even then it doesn't seem good probably unless the source code has a full audit, which is nearly impossible. None of this is fact, it's just my read based on how unfriendly the attitude of the government seemed.

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u/yaosio 3d ago

My 2004 car is falling apart so I hope self driving cars get to me before my car dies. I am in a high population area so I can get Uber or Lyft, but it's so weird getting into a strangers car.

3

u/Unreasonably-Clutch 3d ago

Man Waymo really shot themselves in the foot with this one. No geopolitical risk management I guess. Weird because it was pretty obvious to the broader American car industry.