Amazon-owned self-driving technology company, Zoox, has received permission from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to test its custom-built robotaxis on public roads in California. The company also self-certified that the robotaxis meet the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).

The launch on public roads will be initially limited to Zoox’s employees. It will run as a shuttle service between the company's two buildings in Foster City, California, covering a distance of two miles.

The company did not disclose the size of the fleet but noted that it has built “dozens of” robotaxis with plans to add more soon. It also did not disclose the timeline within which the company plans to expand the service to include more roads or the general public.

Zoox’s custom-built robotaxis come without a steering wheel or pedals and thus was generally believed it would require an exemption from the federal government under FMVSS. However, Zoox claims such an exemption is not needed as it has incorporated FMVSS’s performance requirements into the vehicle.

E-commerce giant, Amazon, ventured into the auto tech space following its acquisition of self-driving startup, Zoox, in June 2020. Zoox unveiled its electric self-driving robotaxi “VH6” in December 2020, which has the capacity to transport four passengers, traveling at a maximum speed of 75 mph and up to 16 hours on a single charge.

Analyst QuickTake: Zoox has been testing its custom-built robotaxis without a steering wheel or pedals on semi-private test courses in California since last year. The company applied for the permit to start testing on public roads last July, and today, the issuance of the permit marks a significant milestone for the company as it reaches closer to its goal to launch commercial robotaxi services using its own purpose-built vehicles. This also adds Zoox to the list of few companies to have obtained the driverless testing permit from the California DMV, including rival Waymo and General Motors’ Cruise .