Robotaxi for Amazon’s Zoox

Amazon owned autonomous vehicle (AV) start-up Zoox has revealed a robotaxi which seats four and can operate 16 hours before recharging.

It can travel in either direction with a motor at each end and is capable of 120km/h from two battery packs but may be years away from deployment.

Zoox intends launching an app-based ride-hailing service in cities like San Francisco and Las Vegas, and in other countries after 2021, Bloomberg reports.

It’s expected to be competitive with the likes of Uber and Lyft.

Delivery EVs may also be built by Zoox, although it has no plans to do so yet.

Bloomberg says getting AVs on the road is taking longer than expected.

In October, Alphabet’s Waymo started a fully driverless taxi service in suburban Phoenix. General Motors-backed Cruise LLC is also testing AVs in San Francisco.

Australia and New Zealand are also trialling AVs.

Several of Zoox’s AVs are being built in Fremont, California, the factory capable of eventually producing 10,000-15,000 units annually.