en.Wedoany.com Reported - Waymo has acquired a 5,500-acre large-scale proving ground in Wittmann, Arizona, from Route 14 Investment Partners LLC, a Delaware shell company associated with Apple, for $220 million. The sale was recorded on June 5, with relevant documents filed with Maricopa County.
Waymo confirmed the transaction to TechCrunch. The acquisition further enhances Waymo's already robust network of closed-course test facilities. Waymo continues to use the Castle Proving Ground in California and the Transportation Research Center in Ohio, but neither site matches the scale of the new Arizona facility.
The Arizona site includes a 115-acre urban road simulation area, a 35-acre vehicle dynamics area, a four-mile oval track, and a highway section specifically built for autonomous vehicle testing. A Waymo spokesperson told TechCrunch that the facility will be used to simulate driving scenarios in a controlled environment to continuously test and improve its autonomous driving system performance, specifically supporting rider-only testing, motion control testing, operational training procedures, and expanding future test programs over time.
Apple purchased the property for $125 million in 2021, having leased it for several years prior. The facility was previously used as a test site for Fiat Chrysler, featuring various road surfaces and a high-speed oval track that helped the Detroit automaker test vehicles and components in hot weather. Apple used the facility to conduct performance testing on prototypes for "Project Titan," an automotive program ultimately abandoned in early 2024 after Apple had invested billions of dollars into it.
The Phoenix Business Journal first uncovered the filing. Waymo is in a phase of significant fleet expansion, with its fleet now approaching nearly 4,000 vehicles. The company recently began offering the first rides in its new Zeekr minivans. Waymo has stated it aims to produce tens of thousands of autonomous taxis annually, including the Zeekr minivans and the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Zeekr vehicles are shipped to Waymo's facility in Arizona, where the autonomous driving system is installed.
Waymo's commercial footprint continues to grow in Phoenix and Maricopa County. The company began testing its autonomous driving technology in Chandler, a Phoenix suburb, in 2017, making the region its first market for commercial autonomous taxi services. Since then, Waymo has expanded its operations to over ten U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Austin, and Atlanta.
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