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ABU DHABI - WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD, HKEX:0800.HK) has received a permit to operate fully driverless commercial robotaxi services in Abu Dhabi, the company announced Monday. The autonomous driving company, currently trading at $2.53 with a market capitalization of approximately $2.4 billion, has seen its stock price decline by over 19% in the past six months according to InvestingPro data.
The permit, granted on October 31, allows WeRide to operate robotaxis without safety drivers, making it one of the first companies to receive a city-level commercial permit for Level 4 autonomous driving outside the United States and the first international company to achieve this milestone in the UAE.
Commercial operations will begin on the Uber and TXAI platforms in Abu Dhabi, with the removal of in-vehicle safety officers expected to help the service achieve financial breakeven on unit economics.
WeRide has been operating robotaxis with TXAI in Abu Dhabi since 2021 and launched a partnership with Uber in December 2024, described as the largest commercial robotaxi service outside the U.S. and China. The service expanded in July 2025 to cover approximately half of Abu Dhabi's core areas.
The company's vehicles have accumulated nearly one million kilometers in Abu Dhabi as of October 2025. WeRide has been conducting fully driverless testing in the city since Q2 2025 to validate reliability ahead of commercial deployment.
In July 2023, WeRide was granted the UAE's first national license for self-driving vehicles, authorizing autonomous testing and operation on public roads across the country, subject to emirate-level approvals.
The company plans to expand its Middle East fleet to 1,000 robotaxis by 2026 and aims to deploy tens of thousands of robotaxis by 2030, according to the press release statement.
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