Waymo has acquired a 5,500-acre autonomous vehicle proving ground in Wittman, Arizona, for $220 million. The property was owned by Route 14 Investment Partners LLC, a Delaware shell company associated with Apple, according to documents filed with Maricopa County.
The sale was recorded on June 5, and Waymo confirmed the purchase to TechCrunch. The Phoenix Business Journal first spotted the document.
Arizona Site Expands Waymo’s Test Network
The Arizona proving ground adds to Waymo’s existing closed-course testing network. The Alphabet-owned company still uses Castle Proving Ground in California and the Transportation Research Center in Ohio, but both are smaller than the Arizona site.
The facility includes a 115-acre city course, a 35-acre vehicle dynamics area, a four-mile oval track, and a freeway course built for autonomous vehicle testing. A Waymo spokesperson said the site will be used to simulate driving scenarios in a controlled environment.
Waymo said the facility will support rider-only testing, motion control testing, operational training workflows, and future testing expansion. The property is also near other proving grounds in Wittman.
Apple Previously Used The Facility
Apple bought the site in 2021 for $125 million after renting access to it for years. The facility had earlier been used by Fiat Chrysler to test vehicles and components in hot weather.
Apple later used the proving ground for prototype vehicles tied to its car project, known as Project Titan. The company ended that project in early 2024 after spending billions of dollars on the effort.
Waymo Continues Fleet Growth
The purchase comes as Waymo expands its robotaxi fleet, which currently stands at close to 4,000 vehicles. The company recently began offering first rides in its Zeekr-made van and has said it wants to produce tens of thousands of robotaxis per year, including Zeekr vans and Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicles.
Zeekr vehicles are sent to Waymo’s Arizona factory, where the company installs its self-driving system. Waymo also outlined its Arizona manufacturing plans in a company update.
Waymo began testing autonomous vehicle technology in Chandler, Arizona, in 2017. Phoenix later became its first commercial robotaxi market, and Waymo now operates in cities including Phoenix, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Austin, and Atlanta, according to its service page.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
For more stories like it, click the +Follow button at the top of this page to follow us.