NHTSA Grants Zoox Exemption for Autonomous Robotaxi Demonstrations, Paving the Way for Future Scaling of AV Technology
The United States’ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has granted an exemption to autonomous vehicle company Zoox, permitting the demonstration of its custom-built robotaxis on public roads. This decision comes following a closed investigation into potential circumvention of federal regulations by Amazon-owned Zoox.
The exemption settles years of debate surrounding compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards, which mandate features like steering wheels and pedals in vehicles. Zoox maintained that its autonomous vehicles meet these standards, self-certifying in July 2022, a claim the NHTSA initially disputed. In response, the agency launched an investigation in March 2023 to scrutinize Zoox’s certification process and data.
Despite the probe, Zoox continued its development and testing of autonomous vehicle technology. By early 2023, it began road trials of its steering wheel-less robotaxis near its Foster City, California headquarters. Expanding its testing grounds to Las Vegas and San Francisco, the company has provided select employees and guests with access to these vehicles.
Although Zoox does not currently operate a commercial service, it has offered its robotaxis for employee use in San Francisco and launched an early public rider program called Zoox Explorer in Las Vegas earlier this year.
For now, the exemption is limited to demonstrations rather than commercial operations. The NHTSA’s decision aligns with its new national framework designed to facilitate the deployment of autonomous vehicles without traditional manual driving controls at scale.
Known as AV STEP (or ADS-Equipped Vehicle Safety, Transparency and Evaluation Program), this framework allows the NHTSA to approve sales and commercialization of autonomous vehicles that lack manual controls due to their unique design. The revised process includes an expedited application for exemptions, encompassing testing, demonstrations, and eventually, commercial operations. Zoox spokesperson Whitney Jencks confirmed in an email that the company is collaborating closely with NHTSA on this process.
As part of the agreement, the NHTSA has concluded its investigation into Zoox’s self-certification of its autonomous vehicles. In adherence to the settlement, Zoox will remove or conceal all statements suggesting that its purpose-built vehicles conform to applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
