Benzinga | Oct 18, 2021 04:44PM EDT

Amazon's Zoox Extends Autonomous Vehicle Testing In Seattle

* Amazon.com Inc's (NASDAQ:AMZN) self-driving unit Zoox will start testing autonomous cars in Seattle, Bloomberg reports.

* Amazon aims to open in 2022 an engineering office and operations facility, which will act as a base for its autonomous vehicle testing, TechCrunch reports.

* Zoox will deploy a fleet of Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) Toyota Highlander vehicles retrofitted with its sensor technology and autonomous driving software.

* Zoox hopes Seattle's climate will help prepare its technology to drive in a broader range of environments. Currently, Zoox is testing vehicles in the comparatively drier precincts of Las Vegas, San Francisco, and its hometown.

* Zoox will also open an office in Seattle next year. The operations facility and engineering office will be staffed by primarily new employees, part of the goal to create 450 new jobs in 2021.

* Zoox employs over 1,300 people, tests its autonomous vehicles in San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Foster City, California, near its headquarters.

* Price Action: AMZN shares closed higher by 1.11% at $3,446.74 on Monday.