Illustration of WeRide and Uber’s Robotaxi GXR in Madrid. Credit: WeRide
- Commercial robotaxi service will launch in Madrid later this year, marking WeRide and Uber’s first joint entry into the European market.
- The deployment continues WeRide’s asset-light operating strategy, aiming to cover 15 cities globally by 2030.
Chinese autonomous driving technology company WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) is accelerating its global expansion, announcing a new plan jointly with US ride-hailing giant Uber (NYSE: UBER) on Tuesday.
The two companies will launch the first commercial robotaxi pilot service in Madrid, Spain. This marks their first joint entry into the European market, and Madrid will become the 12th city globally to host WeRide’s robotaxi operations.
The commercial robotaxi service is expected to officially launch later this year, allowing local users to hail a WeRide robotaxi with a single tap via the Uber app.
During the initial operation phase, these autonomous vehicles will be equipped with professionally trained safety operators to ensure smooth rides, according to a statement on Tuesday.
As key operational metrics are met, WeRide, Uber, and their partner Avomo — a Moove Cars Group company — are committed to further expanding the fleet size.
They plan to deploy hundreds of robotaxis in the future, ultimately pushing for fully driverless commercial services to cover Madrid’s core urban areas.
Spain is the fifth European market WeRide has entered. The launch of the Madrid project builds on the successful collaboration between WeRide and Uber in the Middle East.
The two parties have already launched fully driverless commercial robotaxi operations in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Additionally, Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, is expected to roll out robotaxi services in the near future.
The deployment in Spain demonstrates WeRide’s asset-light operating strategy. By teaming up with established partners equipped with local operational capabilities and platform resources, the company aims to drive large-scale commercialization more efficiently.
For daily operations in Madrid, the robotaxi fleet will be powered by WeRide’s autonomous driving technology. The specific day-to-day fleet management and operations will be handled by Avomo, which is also Uber’s fleet operations partner in Atlanta and Austin in the US.
Madrid is considered one of Europe’s most commercially promising robotaxi markets, boasting strong mobility demand and a large population base, according to WeRide.
WeRide and Uber reached a strategic partnership in September 2024 and began offering robotaxi services on the Uber platform in the UAE in late 2024.
In May 2025, the two parties further expanded their strategic partnership, announcing at the time that they would add 15 new cities globally over the next five years, including locations in Europe and the Middle East.
With the official launch of the Madrid project, WeRide and Uber have now completed deployments in four cities.
The remaining 11 cities will gradually see service coverage by 2030, according to their collaboration plan.
WeRide and Uber plan to deploy tens of thousands of robotaxis globally to bring reliable mobility services to more users.
Tony Han, founder and CEO of WeRide, said that deploying services in a fast-growing city like Madrid demonstrates the company’s ability to operate safely in complex real-world conditions.
Sarfraz Maredia, Uber’s global head of autonomous mobility & delivery, said that Madrid is poised to develop into a leading autonomous driving market in Europe.
The entry into Spain is the latest step in a series of recent international expansions by WeRide.
In March this year, WeRide announced its entry into the Slovakian market, launching the country’s first national-level commercial deployment project.
In April, WeRide partnered with Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab to launch the first public robotaxi service in Singapore.
To date, WeRide’s global business footprint has expanded to 12 countries, and its operating autonomous taxi fleet has surpassed 1,000 vehicles.
Xpeng plans to launch pilot robotaxi operations in the second half of this year to validate technical viability, user acceptance, and its business model.
