Singapore, 11th Dec 2023 -- WeRide(Chinese: 文远知行), a leading global Level 4 autonomous driving technology company, officially announced that it has successfully obtained the Milestone Testing Regime Level 1 License for Autonomous Vehicles (AV) on Public Roads (referred to as "M1 License") and the T1 Assessment License for AVs on Public Paths (referred to as "T1 License") from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore.
With this achievement, WeRide becomes the first and, to date, the only technology company globally to simultaneously hold autonomous driving permits in China, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore.
Established in 2017, WeRide is a leading, commercial-stage global company that develops Level 4 autonomous driving technologies. WeRide is the only tech company in the world that holds autonomous driving permits in China, the US, the UAE and Singapore, conducting autonomous driving R&D, tests and operations in over 26 cities around the world.
It is reported that the conditions for obtaining the M1 License in Singapore are extremely stringent. The assessment covers multiple dimensions, including basic autonomous driving functions, static obstacle recognition, dynamic obstacle avoidance, redundancy in vehicle control by safety driver, overall vehicle safety performance, and more. Vehicles must accurately and flawlessly complete the mentioned tasks within test facilities that highly replicate the urban road traffic scenarios in Singapore. Additionally, the Singapore authorities have exceptionally high safety requirements, making this license highly prestigious.
From the arrival of WeRide's Robobus at the Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research of Autonomous Vehicles in Singapore (CETRAN) on August 28th to the successful acquisition of both M1 and T1 licenses, WeRide accomplished this feat in just three months. This achievement sets a record for the speed at which an autonomous driving company obtained licenses in Singapore. It highlights the company's international leadership in the Level 4 autonomous driving field.
Over the past decade, Singapore has experienced a staggering 66% increase in total domestic travel, leading to persistent challenges for the local government in terms of road network congestion and parking issues. Additionally, more than 30% of Singapore's urban transportation workforce is over 50 years old, indicating a rapidly aging population.
As a result, the development of high-density autonomous public transportation has become a crucial focus for the sustainable development of Singapore. This aligns seamlessly with WeRide's positioning as a provider of autonomous driving technology solutions and an operator of autonomous driving transportation services. In October of this year, WeRide signed strategic cooperation agreements with two Singaporean companies, Woodlands Transport Services and EZ Buzz, further expanding its network of local partners.
(Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Took a Test Ride in WeRide's Robobus Accompanied by WeRide's Founder and CEO Tony Han)
Looking back at the year 2023, WeRide has made remarkable progress both domestically and internationally. On July 3rd, after nearly two years of dedicated efforts of operating Robotaxi fleet in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), WeRide was granted the first autonomous driving license in the UAE, announced by the UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. This is the first national-level autonomous driving license in the Middle East and even globally. It signifies that all of WeRide's autonomous driving vehicles can undergo road tests and operations on public roads throughout the entire UAE.
On November 17th, WeRide received the notice to launch a commercial operation of fully driverless Robotaxi from Beijing Intelligent Connected Vehicle Policy Piolt Zone, which is called “driverless inside the vehicle and remote monitoring outside the vehicle" stage. This means WeRide can provide a fare-charing service of Robotaxis with no safety driver on board to the public in Yizhuang, Beijing. This marks a significant acceleration in the company's large-scale commercialization.
In the future, WeRide will continue to overcome various challenges, bringing the company's high-quality autonomous driving technology, products, and services to more countries and regions, effectively transforming urban living with autonomous driving.