By Abhirup RoySAN DIEGO, July 30 (Reuters) - Amazon's Zoox unit has won U.S. approval for limited commercial deployment of its novel steering-wheel-free robotaxis, a first for the autonomous ride industry, the U.S. auto safety agency said on Thursday. NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison told Reuters that Zoox had received clearance to commercially deploy up to 2,500 vehicles in each of the ‌next two years. ADDITIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTSThe agency said it determined the vehicle is as safe as an equivalent vehicle meeting federal motor ⁠vehicle safety standards that are being waived. "We can say pretty clearly that the systems in place on the Zoox exceed the equivalent performance requirements of a compliant vehicle," Morrison said in an interview. Morrison said NHTSA expects to develop the first federal safety standards for automated driving systems by the end of the Trump administration.