On June 15, 2025, Chinese autonomous driving technology company WeRide signed a cooperation agreement with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Uber Technologies, Inc., the world’s largest mobility and delivery tech company. The three parties will collaborate to deploy commercial Robotaxi services in Dubai.
This service will be launched on the Uber platform later this year, with the first batch of Robotaxis operating commercially with safety drivers and undergoing fully driverless testing. By the first quarter of 2026, the service will transition to fully driverless commercial operations. Currently, WeRide and Uber, under the guidance of RTA, have initiated Robotaxi road testing in Dubai.
The signing of this agreement further strengthens WeRide's long-term strategic partnership with Uber. In September 2024, WeRide and Uber entered into a strategic cooperation, integrating WeRide’s autonomous vehicles into the Uber platform and selecting the UAE as the first market for deployment. In December 2024, the two companies successfully launched the largest Robotaxi commercial fleet in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi. In May 2025, they announced an expansion of their strategic collaboration, planning to deploy autonomous Robotaxi services in 15 additional international cities over the next five years.
Beyond the Middle East, WeRide is also actively expanding into the European market. On March 11, 2025, WeRide launched Robobus trial services in the heart of Barcelona in collaboration with the Renault Group, marking Spain’s first public road autonomous pilot service. On June 3, WeRide again partnered with Renault to provide the only Level 4 autonomous shuttle service at the 2025 French Open, Roland Garros.
In recent years, the global commercialization of autonomous driving technology has accelerated significantly, with many companies setting their sights on overseas markets. The Middle East has often been chosen as the first stop for commercialization abroad, thanks to favorable policies, capital support, and a lack of significant trade disputes. In addition to WeRide, other autonomous mobility service companies, such as Pony.ai and Apollo Go, are also rapidly expanding their global presence, with a focus on the Middle East market.