June 18 (Reuters) - Amazon's ( AMZN ) Zoox has opened

its first robotaxi serial production facility, it said on

Wednesday, marking a crucial step towards launching a commercial

robotaxi service that will compete with Alphabet's

Waymo and Tesla.

Zoox is testing in various U.S. cities with more than 20

vehicles and plans to launch the commercial services in Las

Vegas this year, followed by San Francisco, where it seeks to

expand areas of operation.

The operator currently tests in San Francisco's SoMa

(South of Market) neighborhood and expects to onboard public

riders soon.

"This expansion, plus the anticipated demand once rides open

up to the general public, and additional market entrances in the

coming years warrants this increase in robotaxi production,"

Zoox said in a statement.

The 220,000-square-foot facility in Hayward, California, can

assemble more than 10,000 vehicles per year at full capacity,

though Zoox did not disclose initial production targets.

The commercial launch will pit Zoox against Waymo, which has

operated driverless taxis for years and is expanding nationwide,

and Elon Musk's Tesla, which plans to debut its paid robotaxi

service on June 22.

Zoox operates the only purpose-built robotaxis on U.S. roads

that resemble toaster ovens on wheels and lack manual controls

such as steering wheels or pedals.

This contrasts with operators like Waymo that retrofit

existing vehicles with cameras, sensors and other technology.

Tesla plans to start its robotaxi service with Model Y SUVs

equipped with self-driving software. The company also aims to

introduce a purpose-built, two-seater "Cybercab" without manual

controls.

Efforts to commercialize fully autonomous vehicles have run

into road blocks, including higher-than-expected costs and

strict regulations. Companies such as Zoox, Waymo, and Tesla

have faced federal investigations and recalls following

collisions.