Waymo Buys Apple’s Arizona Proving Ground for $220 Million to Expand Self-Driving Testing

TLDR

• Waymo paid $220 million for a 5,500-acre autonomous vehicle proving ground in Wittmann, Arizona
• The property was owned by a Delaware shell company linked to Apple, which bought it in 2021 for $125 million
• The site includes a 115-acre city course, a four-mile oval track, and a freeway course built for self-driving testing
• Apple originally used the facility for Project Titan, its electric car project that was cancelled in early 2024
• Waymo now operates in more than 10 U.S. cities and is expanding its robotaxi fleet toward tens of thousands of vehicles

Waymo has purchased a 5,500-acre vehicle testing facility in Wittmann, Arizona for $220 million. The sale was recorded on June 5 with Maricopa County.

The property was sold by Route 14 Investment Partners LLC, a Delaware shell company connected to Apple. Waymo confirmed the deal to TechCrunch.

Apple had bought the site in 2021 for $125 million. Before Apple owned it, the facility was used by Fiat Chrysler to test vehicles in hot weather conditions.

Apple used the proving ground as part of Project Titan, its long-running effort to build an electric car. That project was shut down in early 2024 after the company spent billions of dollars on it.

The Arizona facility is now the largest closed-course testing site in Waymo’s network. It is bigger than Waymo’s existing sites at Castle Proving Ground in California and the Transportation Research Center in Ohio.

What the Facility Includes

The site offers a range of testing environments. These include a 115-acre city driving course, a 35-acre vehicle dynamics area, a four-mile high-speed oval track, and a freeway course built specifically for autonomous vehicle testing.

A Waymo spokesperson said the company will use the site to simulate real driving scenarios in a controlled setting. The facility will support rider-only testing, motion control testing, and operational training.

Waymo also plans to use the site for future testing expansion as its fleet grows.

Waymo’s Expanding Robotaxi Network

Waymo first began testing in the Phoenix area in 2017, starting in the suburb of Chandler. The region became its first commercial robotaxi market.

The company has since grown to more than 10 U.S. cities. These include Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Austin, and Atlanta.

Waymo’s fleet currently stands at close to 4,000 vehicles. The company recently launched its first rides in a new van made by Zeekr.

The Zeekr vans are shipped to Waymo’s Arizona factory, where they are fitted with the self-driving system. Waymo has said it wants to produce tens of thousands of robotaxis per year.

That production plan includes both the Zeekr van and the Hyundai Ioniq 5. The Arizona proving ground will play a role in testing and refining those vehicles before they hit public roads.

Waymo’s parent company is Alphabet, which also owns Google.

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