{"id":"c75de3c5-18fe-4d29-93a2-8a5a7ae58845","slug":"zeekr-rt-nhtsa-recall-25v068","kind":"recall","headline":"NHTSA recall 25V-068: Zeekr RT airbag noncompliance with FMVSS 208 unbelted test","summary":"Zeekr Technology US recalled 1 vehicle (of 30 manufactured) after a final verification crash test revealed the passenger airbag and inflatable curtain failed to meet FMVSS 208 injury criteria for unbelted passengers in a 40 kph 30-degree right front impact. The remedy involves reducing passenger seat travel length from 300mm to 50mm via a physical stop. The remaining 29 vehicles were secured at the China manufacturing facility.","occurredAt":"2025-03-04T00:00:00.000Z","reviewStatus":"reviewed","modelId":"037bc530-4599-478f-9e0b-f1b624b0407e","deploymentId":"62860019-61e2-450c-a1ee-ae490e23842a","companyId":null,"dataCenterId":null,"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"severity":"moderate","rootCauseCategory":null,"rootCauseDetail":null,"affectedUnitsCount":null,"affectedUnitsBasis":null,"remediationStatus":null,"regulatoryAction":"recall_ordered","regulatoryBody":"NHTSA","propertyDamageEstimateUsd":null,"damageEstimateBasis":null,"bodilyInjurySeverity":null,"fatalityCount":null,"lossCostClass":null,"sourceQualityTier":null,"oshaRecordable":null,"oshaCaseNumber":null,"rootCauseDisclosed":null,"publicDisclosureDate":null,"insuranceClaimPublic":null,"formFactor":"av","latitude":null,"longitude":null,"autonomyClass":null,"legalOutcomeClass":"unknown","createdAt":"2026-07-27T03:06:45.101Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-09T05:24:01.599Z","model":{"id":"037bc530-4599-478f-9e0b-f1b624b0407e","companyId":"1a1565f2-33e0-433c-80c5-46a4a09ea662","modelName":"Zeekr RT (Ojai)","slug":"zeekr-rt","description":"The Zeekr RT, later rebranded as Waymo Ojai, is a purpose-built electric robotaxi vehicle manufactured by Zeekr for Waymo's autonomous ride-hailing service. Built on Zeekr's SEA-M platform, it features 13 cameras, four lidar, six radar, and an external audio receiver array. Production began December 2024; passenger service began May 2026.","formFactor":"av","industryVertical":null,"environment":null,"maturityStage":"production","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByModelId":null,"specs":{},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/07/waymo-is-rebranding-its-zeekr-robotaxi/","label":"Waymo is rebranding its Zeekr robotaxi","title":"Waymo is rebranding its Zeekr robotaxi","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"TechCrunch"}],"aliases":["Zeekr RT"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"manufacturerTermForTeleop":null,"keyFacts":[{"label":"Form Factor","value":"av"},{"label":"Maturity","value":"production"},{"label":"Vehicle platform","value":"Geely Zeekr MIX (minivan); purpose-built robotaxi variant = Zeekr RT / Ojai"},{"label":"Base vehicle cost (China)","value":"~$39,250–$40,000 (Zeekr MIX MSRP in China); decontented RT likely ~$32–33K"},{"label":"US tariff impact","value":"102.5%–127.5% US tariff on Chinese EVs; loaded vehicle cost post-tariff estimated ~$78,000"},{"label":"Total vehicle cost (all-in)","value":"Estimated $50,000–$55,000 build cost (Waymo factory integration in Mesa, AZ); some estimates ~$75K with sensors+compute+integration"},{"label":"Sensor suite (6th-gen)","value":"13 cameras, 4 LiDARs, 6 radars, external audio receivers (EARs); 42% fewer sensors than 5th-gen"},{"label":"Sensor suite cost","value":"Estimated ~$9,300–$10,000 per vehicle (5th-gen BOM per Bloomberg); 6th-gen likely lower with fewer sensors"},{"label":"LiDAR cost","value":"Waymo custom in-house LiDAR; ~$1,000/unit or less (down from $75K/off-the-shelf in early days, >90% cost reduction)"},{"label":"Camera cost","value":"17-megapixel custom imagers; automotive cameras ~hundreds of dollars per unit"},{"label":"Radar cost","value":"6 imaging radar units; automotive radars ~hundreds of dollars per unit"},{"label":"Compute platform","value":"NVIDIA DRIVE Thor (Zeekr first OEM to mass-produce with Thor); 2,000 TOPS FP8; Waymo also uses custom Google TPU-based compute"},{"label":"Compute cost (est.)","value":"Estimated ~$14,000 (benchmarked against 2x NVIDIA 5090 workstation); likely lower with Google TPU"},{"label":"Integration cost","value":"Estimated ~$10,000; Zeekr RT is plug-and-play with drive-by-wire designed for robotaxi, reducing retrofit costs"},{"label":"Per-mile operating cost","value":"Estimated ~$1.40–$2.31/mi (operating only, excl. depreciation); passenger price ~$42/mi vs Uber/Lyft ~$30/mi"},{"label":"Fleet size","value":"3,200+ Zeekr RT units imported to US (2025); Waymo total fleet ~3,000 vehicles (Nov 2025), expanding to 5,000+ with Zeekr"},{"label":"Integration facility","value":"Waymo factory in Mesa, Arizona, capacity tens of thousands/year"},{"label":"Key suppliers","value":"Geely/Zeekr (vehicle platform), NVIDIA (DRIVE Thor compute), Waymo in-house (LiDAR, cameras, radar, software), Google (TPU compute, Gemini AI)"},{"label":"Cost vs Jaguar I-PACE","value":"~50–66% cost reduction vs 5th-gen Jaguar I-PACE (~$150K → ~$50–75K)"}],"createdAt":"2026-07-27T03:06:21.883Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-10T01:21:44.059Z","unitsInFieldClaimed":null,"unitsInFieldVerified":null,"unitsManufacturedClaimed":null,"unitsManufacturedVerified":null,"unitsAsOf":null,"unitsSource":null,"salesModel":null,"priceUndisclosedSince":null,"autonomyClass":null,"autonomyStatement":null,"autonomyStatementSource":null,"demoForensics":null,"exportControlClass":null,"minCommitment":null,"warrantyTerms":null,"serviceModel":null,"productionRateClaimed":null,"productionRateEvidenced":null,"teleopRatioDisclosed":null,"interventionRateDisclosed":null},"deployment":{"id":"62860019-61e2-450c-a1ee-ae490e23842a","modelId":"037bc530-4599-478f-9e0b-f1b624b0407e","versionId":null,"locationId":"05159d42-5809-4678-b688-9f42820e8728","operatorId":"2128addc-20c8-4c31-aef5-be5ada97aede","ownerId":null,"slug":"zeekr-rt-phoenix-arizona-usa","status":"operational","firstSeen":"2026-05-01T00:00:00.000Z","statusChangeReason":null,"contractType":null,"pilotOutcome":null,"endedAt":null,"unitsOnSite":null,"tasksPerformed":["delivery"],"shiftStructure":null,"hoursPerDay":16,"siteType":"airport","operatorConfirmed":null,"humanSupervisionOnsite":null,"locationPrecisionTier":"verified_coordinates","deploymentScale":"medium_11_100","siteEnvironment":"outdoor","operatorType":null,"sourceQualityTier":2,"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/07/waymo-is-rebranding-its-zeekr-robotaxi/","label":"Waymo is rebranding its Zeekr robotaxi","title":"Waymo is rebranding its Zeekr robotaxi","mediaType":"article","sourceName":"TechCrunch","publishedAt":"2026-05-01"}],"notes":"Waymo operates the Zeekr RT (rebranded as Ojai) robotaxi in Phoenix, one of its core commercial ride-hailing markets. Testing also occurred here during development.","keyFacts":[],"reviewNote":null,"exposureHours":null,"deploymentMilesEstimate":null,"exposureBasis":null,"customerSegment":"logistics","scaleTier":"commercial_10_99","contractValueUsd":null,"contractValueBasis":null,"customerCompanyId":null,"customerExternalName":null,"createdAt":"2026-07-27T03:07:05.023Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-21T17:10:32.492Z"},"company":null,"derived":{"status":"active"},"sources":[{"id":"182599ff-79c3-4cf8-b6af-812f42f97322","incidentId":"c75de3c5-18fe-4d29-93a2-8a5a7ae58845","url":"https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2025/RCLRPT-25V068-2153.PDF","label":"NHTSA","publishedAt":"2025-03-04T00:00:00.000Z","notes":null,"title":null,"sourceName":"NHTSA","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-07-27T03:06:45.101Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-27T03:06:45.101Z"},{"id":"ab0afd83-afa0-4be4-8c61-17d929c3cd34","incidentId":"c75de3c5-18fe-4d29-93a2-8a5a7ae58845","url":"https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls/25V068000","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"Zeekr recall 25V068000","sourceName":"National Highway Traffic Safety Administration","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-09-29T22:05:02.151Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-29T22:05:02.151Z"}],"responses":[],"statusEvents":[{"id":"64039da4-83c4-432a-96d6-eb4a99371736","incidentId":"c75de3c5-18fe-4d29-93a2-8a5a7ae58845","status":"active","reason":null,"source":"agent:recon","effectiveAt":"2026-07-27T03:06:46.244Z","createdAt":"2026-07-27T03:06:46.244Z"}],"jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/zeekr-rt-nhtsa-recall-25v068","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/zeekr-rt-nhtsa-recall-25v068","headline":"NHTSA recall 25V-068: Zeekr RT airbag noncompliance with FMVSS 208 unbelted test","description":"Zeekr Technology US recalled 1 vehicle (of 30 manufactured) after a final verification crash test revealed the passenger airbag and inflatable curtain failed to meet FMVSS 208 injury criteria for unbelted passengers in a 40 kph 30-degree right front impact. The remedy involves reducing passenger seat travel length from 300mm to 50mm via a physical stop. The remaining 29 vehicles were secured at the China manufacturing facility.","identifier":"c75de3c5-18fe-4d29-93a2-8a5a7ae58845","datePublished":"2025-03-04T00:00:00.000Z","articleSection":"recall","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"},"author":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":2,"primary_source_types":["primary-regulatory-filing"]}}}