Uber & WeRide Expand Robotaxi Service to 15 New Cities
▼ Summary
– Uber and WeRide plan to expand their robotaxi partnership to 15 more cities over five years, including locations in Europe.
– The partnership integrates WeRide’s robotaxi services into the Uber app, similar to Uber’s arrangement with Waymo.
– The companies currently operate in Abu Dhabi and plan to expand to Dubai, collaborating with local firm Tawasul Transport for fleet operations.
– The expansion will focus on cities outside China and the U.S., avoiding direct competition in those markets.
– Uber has formed over 15 AV partnerships in the past two years, with its most prominent U.S. collaboration being the commercially active Waymo on Uber service in Austin and soon Atlanta.
Uber and WeRide are accelerating their autonomous vehicle ambitions with plans to deploy robotaxi services across 15 new international markets within five years. This strategic expansion builds on their existing collaboration in Abu Dhabi, where the companies launched a commercial self-driving taxi service earlier this year. The partnership will now extend into European cities, marking a significant step in globalizing autonomous mobility solutions.
Through this alliance, WeRide’s autonomous vehicles become accessible via the Uber app, mirroring the ride-hailing giant’s existing model with Waymo. Uber manages customer interfaces and fleet logistics while WeRide provides the core autonomous driving technology. The companies currently operate in Abu Dhabi through local partner Tawasul Transport, with Dubai slated as the next Middle Eastern market.
The expansion deliberately targets regions beyond China and the United States, reflecting both companies’ strategy to establish early dominance in emerging autonomous vehicle markets. WeRide, which recently completed its Nasdaq listing in October, gains valuable global distribution through Uber’s established platform.
Uber continues to aggressively pursue autonomous technology partnerships across multiple transportation sectors. In recent months alone, the company has announced collaborations with May Mobility, Volkswagen, and Chinese autonomous driving specialist Momenta. These deals span ride-hailing, delivery services, and freight transportation.
The company’s most visible autonomous partnership remains its U.S. collaboration with Waymo. Their “Waymo on Uber” service already operates in Austin and will soon launch in Atlanta, demonstrating Uber’s commitment to integrating multiple autonomous solutions into its global mobility ecosystem. This multi-partner approach allows Uber to leverage different autonomous technologies while maintaining control over customer experience and service scalability.
(Source: TechCrunch)
