Waymo appears to have imported 3,200 Zeekr vans despite steep tariffs

Why it matters

Waymo's scaling constraint has moved into vehicle supply and factory throughput. Zeekr can provide capacity now, while Hyundai offers a U.S.-built route for later expansion, but tariffs and connected-vehicle rules complicate the economics.

Waymo (@Waymo) appears to have imported at least 3,200 Zeekr-built electric vans through the Port of Los Angeles since 2024, giving co-CEOs Dmitri Dolgov and Tekedra Mawakana a much larger vehicle pipeline than Waymo has publicly put into service.

The tally comes from bills of lading compiled by ImportGenius and reported by Forbes on August 2nd. The records show more than 2,600 units of Zeekr's CM1e arriving during 2026 alone. Waymo brands the purpose-built robotaxi as the Ojai after installing its autonomous-driving hardware and software in the United States.

The shipping documents identify Zeekr or the vehicle model, rather than Waymo as the recipient. Forbes tied the shipments to Waymo because Zeekr has no other known U.S. partner. Waymo declined to confirm the import total or its vehicle costs, but spokesman Chris Bonelli told Forbes that Waymo is serving early-access riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix with "over 300 Ojais."

That leaves a large gap between vehicles shipped and vehicles carrying passengers. The records do not establish how many vans are awaiting integration, undergoing tests, sitting in storage or being prepared for future markets. They do show that Waymo's procurement plan is operating at a scale that had remained hidden behind its measured public rollout.

Dolgov has been building toward this moment since 2009, when he helped start Google's self-driving car project. A physicist and computer scientist who previously worked on autonomous driving at Toyota and with Stanford's DARPA Urban Challenge team, Dolgov oversees the development and deployment of the Waymo Driver. Mawakana, a lawyer and former executive at eBay, Yahoo and AOL, focuses on commercial adoption. Their shared job has moved from proving a car can drive itself to sourcing, integrating and operating thousands of cars across a growing network of cities.

Tariffs have become a cost of speed

Waymo and Zeekr announced their collaboration in December 2021, before Washington sharply increased the cost of importing Chinese electric vehicles. Zeekr agreed to deliver the base vehicles to the U.S. for Waymo to install the Waymo Driver; the 2021 collaboration described the vehicle as styled in Sweden through Geely's design network.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative raised the Section 301 tariff on Chinese EVs to 100% in 2024. Forbes calculates that total applicable duties reach about 127.5%. At a reported Chinese-market vehicle price of $39,000, that rate would raise the cost to nearly $89,000 before Waymo adds autonomous-driving equipment that Forbes estimates at more than $10,000.

The actual landed price remains unknown. The customs records do not include declared vehicle values, and Waymo has not said whether Waymo, Zeekr or Geely absorbs the tariffs. Bulk pricing could also differ materially from the Chinese-market figure used in the estimate.

Waymo has the capital to tolerate an expensive bridge fleet. In February, Waymo raised $16 billion at a $126 billion post-money valuation. Dragoneer, DST Global and Sequoia led the round, alongside investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Mubadala, Bessemer, Silver Lake, Tiger Global and T. Rowe Price. Alphabet remains Waymo's majority owner.

That financing turns the tariff into a unit-economics problem rather than an immediate procurement barrier. It still matters. Robotaxis must eventually cover vehicle depreciation, maintenance, charging, cleaning, remote support and local operations with passenger fares. Adding tens of thousands of dollars to the base vehicle raises the utilization and lifespan each Ojai must achieve.

A purpose-built vehicle for the expansion phase

The Ojai offers capabilities that Waymo's Jaguar I-PACE fleet was never designed around. It has sliding doors, a flat floor, a lower step and a larger passenger compartment. Waymo's May Ojai introduction also described embedded braille, screen-reader compatibility and a seat-integrated support handle.

Ojai is the first platform carrying Waymo's sixth-generation Driver. Waymo says the system was designed to handle a wider range of weather, including snowier conditions, as the service moves beyond its early Sun Belt and West Coast markets. Waymo has said its Mesa, Arizona facility is being prepared to integrate tens of thousands of Waymo-enabled vehicles annually.

The import data puts that factory target into context. MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Morton estimates that Waymo is importing roughly 300 Zeekrs each month, according to Forbes. If sustained, the supply rate would support a steady sequence of city launches rather than isolated pilots.

For comparison, Forbes pointed to a NHTSA recall filing that put Waymo's fleet at about 3,900 units as of last month, including test vehicles. The more than 3,200 Zeekrs identified in shipping records represent a hardware pipeline approaching the scale of that older fleet, although only a fraction of the Ojais have entered rider service.

Waymo is building a second supply route

The Zeekr strategy carries a policy clock. The Commerce Department's connected-vehicle rules phase in restrictions beginning with model year 2027 for vehicles using covered Chinese or Russian connectivity and automated-driving software. Restrictions on covered vehicle-connectivity hardware begin with model year 2030, or January 1st, 2029 for components without a model year.

Waymo installs its own autonomous system in the U.S., and the available records do not establish how regulators will treat the Ojai's exact hardware and software configuration. The rules create compliance questions beyond the tariff bill as Waymo commits to later production years.

Waymo is also developing a domestic supply path. Under a 2024 partnership with Hyundai, Ioniq 5 vehicles for the Waymo fleet are to be assembled at Hyundai's electric-vehicle factory in Georgia and delivered with autonomous-ready modifications. That program gives Waymo another source of sixth-generation vehicles without relying exclusively on Chinese manufacturing.

The two platforms solve different timing problems. Zeekr has already shipped thousands of purpose-built vans. Hyundai offers a U.S.-assembled vehicle for the longer expansion cycle. Dolgov and Mawakana are using Waymo's balance sheet to secure immediate capacity while the second manufacturing route develops.

That is the operating bet beneath the import records. Waymo spent years making autonomy work. Its leaders are now buying the vehicles, factory throughput and deployment time needed to turn that technology into a transportation network. The tariff makes the first wave more expensive, but waiting for a cheaper fleet would surrender the one resource Waymo's funding cannot replenish: its current lead in putting driverless rides on city streets.