Waymo under fire in Capitol Hill for heavy reliance on Chinese cars, foreign labour

What initially was a policy discussion about self-driving vehicles became contentious for Waymo.

On Wednesday, lawmakers accused the robotaxi firm of being overly dependent on Chinese-made cars and offshoring employment, resulting in a tense exchange during a two-hour Senate session.

After autonomous vehicle leaders earlier in the hearing voiced concerns that US companies could lag behind Chinese competitors, senators turned those concerns towards Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña.

"You indicated in your testimony that we are engaged in a race with China, yet it appears you're aligning with China," Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio remarked, highlighting Waymo's strategy to utilize automobiles produced by a unit of Geely, a Chinese carmaker.

Peña stated the Alphabet-owned company utilises a variety of platforms, but Moreno challenged back, questioning if Waymo was exploiting a "loophole" to bypass the federal "connected vehicle" mandate, which limits foreign-linked technology in critical systems.

Under US regulations finalized last year, vehicles with specific autonomous or connected software associated with China will face import limitations, although key elements are not yet fully implemented.

Waymo initially partnered with Zeekr, a Chinese automotive brand owned by Geely, in 2021.

Since then, the firm has spent numerous years adjusting and testing a minivan-style vehicle constructed by Zeekr for its robotaxi scheme.

Peña mentioned the Chinese-made vehicles have "no connectivity" and that the driving system is installed in the US.

He further noted that utilising a more expansive global supply chain helps the firm scale faster and maintain resilience.