Uber has announced plans to broaden its partnership with Chinese autonomous vehicle firm WeRide, aiming to extend their commercial robotaxi services to an additional 15 cities over the next five years. This initiative follows the successful launch of their robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi five months ago.
To support this expansion, Uber intends to invest an additional $100 million into WeRide, with expectations for this funding to be realised by the latter half of 2025. The two companies have indicated that the new cities will include locations in Europe, significantly enhancing their market reach.
WeRide’s robotaxi services will remain integrated into the Uber app, similar to Uber’s collaboration with Waymo in the United States. In this partnership model, Uber takes charge of aspects such as network routing and fleet operations, while WeRide focuses on the autonomous vehicle technology.
Currently, WeRide and Uber operate in Abu Dhabi, with plans to extend operations to Dubai as well. For fleet management in Abu Dhabi, they are collaborating with local partner Tawasul Transport. The additional cities targeted for the expansion are outside of China and the USA, highlighting Uber’s commitment to international growth in the autonomous space.
In recent years, Uber has established over 15 partnerships with various autonomous vehicle technology companies, covering numerous sectors, including ride-hailing, delivery, and trucking. Recently, they have formed new agreements with companies like May Mobility and Volkswagen, along with Chinese self-driving entity Momenta. Among its collaborations, Uber’s most notable in the US is with Waymo, which is currently operational in Austin and set to launch in Atlanta soon.
This announcement marks a significant step in the landscape of mobility services, emphasising the importance of autonomous technology in urban transportation. Recently public on the Nasdaq, WeRide continues to garner attention as it develops this futuristic vision in tandem with Uber.
This story was updated to include details of Uber’s financial commitment to WeRide.
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