June 5, Zoox, Amazon.com's robotaxi unit, announced that it would begin testing its autonomous vehicles in Austin, Texas, and Miami, marking its first trial outside of the western United States.

During the press conference, it was revealed that Zoox plans to deploy a small fleet of modified Toyota (TM) Highlanders, equipped with human safety drivers, in the commercial and entertainment districts of both cities. Zoox has been conducting tests of its autonomously designed vehicles in California and Nevada, which feature no steering wheels or pedals and can accommodate four passengers seated face-to-face in pairs.

The announcement follows investigations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) into two accidents involving 500 Zoox vehicles equipped with autonomous driving systems.

Zoox will establish its fourth and fifth public testing facilities in Austin and Miami, joining existing facilities in San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Seattle. While Zoox currently does not offer public ride-hailing services in Austin or Miami, it is considering commercial services in many cities following its initial launches in target markets like Las Vegas and San Francisco.

In addition to Zoox, other autonomous driving companies such as Cruise by General Motors (GM) and Waymo by Alphabet (GOOGL) are also under scrutiny by the NHTSA to assess the performance of autonomous vehicles.

On the same day, Cruise announced the commencement of operations in Dallas, Texas, with a small fleet of vehicles equipped with human drivers, following a suspension of operations due to an accident involving one of its autonomous taxis in San Francisco last October.