In February, WeRide launched its GXR robotaxi, which options L4 redundant drive-by-wire chassis structure, open cellular journey house, and the world’s first hidden B-pillar design. | Supply: WeRide
Uber and WeRide, a Chinese language autonomous car (AV) developer, are deepening their partnership. Uber will make investments a further $100 million into WeRide, in keeping with a latest regulatory submitting, and produce WeRide’s expertise to fifteen extra cities over the subsequent 5 years.
“We’re excited to take our partnership with Uber to new heights. Increasing into new cities throughout a number of continents displays each firms’ confidence in our expertise and our shared dedication to modern, sustainable transportation options,” stated Tony Han, founder and CEO of WeRide. “This growth aligns with WeRide’s formidable technique for international progress – to make autonomous driving options extra inexpensive and accessible to individuals worldwide.”
This growth follows WeRide’s AV launch in Abu Dhabi. Already, the corporate plans to launch a service in Dubai quickly, with new cities in Europe to comply with. WeRide stated it plans to launch providers in a number of new cities annually, all exterior of the U.S. and China. Up to now, the U.S. and China have been leaders in AV deployments, with Alphabet’s Waymo main the cost right here.
Much like Uber’s partnership with Waymo, WeRide’s robotaxi providers shall be obtainable by means of the Uber app. Uber will deal with fleet operations, whereas WeRide shall be answerable for the expertise powering the service.
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WeRide goals to carry robotaxis to Europe
WeRide has principally gained traction deploying its AV expertise in China. There, the corporate has launched providers in Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Ordos, and Suzhou. Moreover, it has partnered with Dubai’s Highway and Transport Authority (RTA).
As a part of the settlement, Uber and RTA will collaborate on pilot applications, leveraging Uber’s expertise to match riders with AVs whereas guaranteeing a seamless and user-friendly expertise. The partnership can even discover knowledge insights, security protocols, and regulatory frameworks to assist a easy transition to autonomous mobility in Dubai.
This yr, WeRide plans to launch its totally unmanned Robotaxi operations in Zurich, Switzerland. It already operates a Robobus autonomous shuttle service on the Zurich Airport in partnership with Flughafen Zürich AG and Swiss Transit Lab.
“At present’s announcement – one of many greatest partnerships of its variety ever introduced – is a big milestone in direction of realizing the promise of autonomous mobility in additional locations world wide,” stated Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber. ”By leveraging Uber’s international scale, operational experience, and main market expertise, we’re thrilled to associate with cutting-edge AV firms like WeRide to assist them commercialize their automobiles and produce the advantages of autonomy to extra riders.”
In October, WeRide was listed on the Nasdaq World Choose Market below the ticker image “WRD.” The firm stated it anticipated to lift $458.5 million from the general public itemizing. Established in 2017, WeRide gives autonomous driving programs starting from SAE Degree 2 to Degree 4. It has carried out analysis and growth, testing, and operations throughout 30 cities in seven international locations.