WeRide becomes the only autonomous driving technology company globally with licenses in five countries
On March 27, WeRide, a Chinese globally leading autonomous driving technology company (Nasdaq: WRD), announced its cooperation with beti, an autonomous driving mobility network operator in France, and obtained a French license for pure autonomous driving on public roads for testing and operation. As of now, WeRide has become the world's first and so far the only technology company to simultaneously hold autonomous driving licenses in five countries: China, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, France, and the United States.
France is known for its rigorous autonomous driving legislation system. According to the PACTE Act promulgated in 2019, applications for autonomous driving licenses must undergo a joint review by multiple departments. Relevant technical documents, safety contingency plans, and operation plans also need to be comprehensively reviewed and evaluated. It only took WeRide and beti three months from submitting the application to finally obtaining the license, setting a record for autonomous driving companies obtaining licenses in France.
This license allows WeRide's autonomous minibuses to operate at a speed of 40 km/h, which is currently the highest speed license for pure autonomous road testing and operation approved in France.
On February 27, WeRide, together with beti, Renault Group, and Macif, jointly launched Europe's first commercial operation project of autonomous minibuses on public roads in Valence, Drôme. The four parties expect to achieve a remote-assisted one-to-many pure autonomous commercial operation model in July this year.
Currently, WeRide has been conducting research and development, testing, and operation of autonomous driving in 30 cities across 10 countries. Its front-loaded mass-production products such as robotaxi, robobus, and robosweeper have been launched in France, Spain, Switzerland, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, and other countries.
