Chinese autonomous driving firm WeRide has obtained approval to operate fully driverless robotaxis in Abu Dhabi, marking a significant milestone in Middle East’s autonomous transport technology.
WeRide, a Chinese company working on autonomous driving tech, has hit a pretty significant milestone in the Middle East: they’ve officially received approval to run fully driverless robotaxis in Abu Dhabi, UAE. This was announced on October 31st, and the permit basically means WeRide can now operate commercial robotaxi services without the necessity of a safety driver onboard. According to the company, it’s among the first in the world to get such a city-level license for Level 4 autonomous vehicles outside the U.S., and the very first international firm to receive it in the UAE.
Back in 2021, WeRide’s presence in Abu Dhabi started taking shape, initially through testing its robotaxis in partnership with TXAI, a local ride-hailing platform for autonomous vehicles. Fast forward to December 2024, and they launched a ride-hailing collaboration with Uber, which has since expanded to cover roughly half of Abu Dhabi’s main districts, such as Al Reem and Al Maryah. Their plan is to cover most of the city’s core areas by the end of 2025. To date, WeRide’s robotaxis have traveled close to one million kilometers around the city, demonstrating their considerable operational experience.
Getting this approval wasn’t simple. It involved a demanding, thorough review process led by the UAE authorities, including a series of extensive testing runs , which started early in 2025 , all without safety drivers. This tough vetting process underlines the UAE government’s serious approach to regulating autonomous vehicles, aiming to ensure safety and reliable operation.
One of the big perks of this permit is that it lifts the requirement for an in-vehicle safety officer. WeRide believes this change will help them reach a point where each vehicle can break even financially in Abu Dhabi. That’s a big deal because, without that, scaling the business sustainably would be challenging. The company is pretty ambitious, the plan is to grow their Middle East fleet to 1,000 robotaxis by 2026 and possibly push that number into the tens of thousands by 2030.
In terms of practical service, the fully driverless robotaxis will operate on both Uber and TXAI platforms right in Abu Dhabi, though they haven’t disclosed all the nitty-gritty details yet. Importantly, WeRide emphasizes that it worked closely with local authorities during the approval process, aligning with Abu Dhabi’s broader vision to evolve into a smart city that’s a leader in autonomous tech.
This development by WeRide isn’t happening in isolation. It’s part of a bigger wave of Chinese autonomous vehicle and tech companies increasing their footprint in the Middle East. Take Baidu, for example, there are reports that they’re considering launching their Apollo Go robotaxi service in Dubai. Baidu’s CEO, Robin Li, has boasted that their system is “10 times safer” than human drivers, which is quite a claim. This push also fits into the larger trend of Chinese tech giants investing heavily in cloud computing and AI infrastructure across the Gulf region, like Tencent’s recent move to establish a cloud region in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, other autonomous vehicle providers are still fine-tuning their tech worldwide. For instance, Waymo, owned by Alphabet, recently recalled over 1,200 robotaxis in the U.S., mainly to fix software issues related to obstacle detection. Despite those hiccups, Waymo has rolled out driverless operations on highways in cities like San Francisco and Phoenix, focusing on longer, high-speed trips without safety drivers, pretty impressive.
All in all, the UAE’s open attitude toward regulation and innovation in autonomous vehicles really sets a promising stage for WeRide’s ambitions. Abu Dhabi, in particular, could become a major hub for Level 4 autonomous mobility. This move fits perfectly with the emirate’s bigger goal of leveraging emerging technology to create sustainable urban transport and cut down carbon emissions.
WeRide’s recent backing from Southeast Asia’s Grab, which has taken an equity stake to help speed up the deployment of Level 4 robotaxis in their core markets, is another sign of confidence in the global potential of fully autonomous transport services. Grab’s investment, which is expected to wrap up by mid-2026, highlights the growing connections across innovation corridors linking the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
As Abu Dhabi gears up to host these fully driverless robotaxis in a commercial setting, it’s poised to become a showcase, both regionally and globally, for scaled autonomous mobility. But of course, making sure these operations are safe, reliable, and financially viable will be crucial if autonomous transportation is really going to revolutionize city travel and environmental efforts in the UAE and beyond.
Source: Noah Wire Services
- https://tech.yahoo.com/transportation/articles/weride-cleared-run-fully-driverless-105859033.html – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://tech.yahoo.com/transportation/articles/weride-cleared-run-fully-driverless-105859033.html – WeRide, a Chinese autonomous driving company, has been granted approval to operate fully driverless robotaxi services in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The permit, issued on 31 October, allows the company to run robotaxis without safety drivers, marking it as one of the first to obtain a city-level commercial permit for Level 4 autonomous driving outside the US and the first international company to do so in the UAE. WeRide plans to expand its Middle East fleet to 1,000 robotaxis by 2026 and deploy tens of thousands by 2030. Commercial services will launch on the Uber and TXAI platforms in Abu Dhabi, with further details to follow. The approval followed a comprehensive assessment process, including a rigorous testing programme. WeRide has been operating robotaxis with TXAI in Abu Dhabi since 2021 and began a robotaxi ride-hailing partnership with Uber in December 2024, described as the largest commercial robotaxi service outside the US and China. The latest permit removes the need for an in-vehicle safety officer, enabling the company’s robotaxi operations in the emirate to reach financial breakeven on a unit economics basis. In August, Grab made a strategic equity investment in WeRide to expedite the rollout of Level 4 robotaxis and shuttles across the Southeast Asian region, with the investment slated for completion by the first half of 2026.
- https://tech.yahoo.com/transportation/articles/caocao-tailgates-weride-uae-chinas-093000373.html – Chinese autonomous-driving firms are accelerating their expansion into the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with WeRide entering a new operational phase and Geely-backed CaoCao making its debut in the Middle Eastern market. WeRide announced that it had received formal approval from UAE authorities to launch a fully driverless robotaxi service without a safety operator on board, marking the first city-level commercial licence for Level 4 autonomous driving outside the United States. The approval followed stringent safety and regulatory procedures, with tests without a safety operator beginning in the second quarter of the year. WeRide began testing in Abu Dhabi as early as 2021 in partnership with TXAI, the region’s robotaxi-hailing platform, and has worked with Uber since December 2024 to extend its reach. Commercial operations are expected to cover key areas, including Khalifa City and Masdar City, by the end of the year. The new unmanned service will be available on both platforms. With no human operator, WeRide expects to achieve per-vehicle break-even in Abu Dhabi, although the company has not set a date. The firm plans to expand its Middle East fleet to 1,000 vehicles by 2026 and tens of thousands by 2030.
- https://tech.yahoo.com/transportation/articles/baidu-plans-robotaxi-dubai-chinas-093000127.html – China’s internet search and artificial intelligence (AI) giant Baidu is considering bringing its robotaxi service to Dubai, according to sources, becoming the latest company from the country to expand its footprint in the Middle East. Baidu, which received a licence in Hong Kong at the end of 2024 for testing autonomous vehicles through its Apollo Go robotaxi service, is in talks with the United Arab Emirates to bring the service to the Middle Eastern financial hub. Baidu CEO Robin Li attended the World Government Summit in Dubai, where he discussed the future of autonomous driving and cloud computing. At the event, Li promoted the safety of Apollo Go vehicles, calling its autonomous driving system “10 times safer” than human drivers. Apollo Go is operational across 11 cities in mainland China, including Wuhan, where it currently has a fleet of more than 400 robotaxis. The service had delivered 8 million rides nationwide as of November 2024. Baidu’s Dubai expansion is part of a wave of Chinese technology companies venturing into the Middle East. China’s WeRide, a Guangzhou-based autonomous driving start-up, has partnered with Uber to offer robotaxi rides in Abu Dhabi. The two companies aim to offer a fully driverless commercial service in the city later this year. Tencent Cloud, the cloud computing unit of Chinese video gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings, announced the launch of its first Middle East Cloud Region in Saudi Arabia during the Leap 2025 technology summit in Riyadh. Tencent said it would spend more than US$150 million on infrastructure and other investments over the next few years. Hu Dan, vice-president of Tencent Cloud International for the Middle East and North Africa, said the new cloud region is a milestone in the company’s growth strategy. China’s other cloud service providers, including those of Huawei Technologies and Alibaba Group Holding, have built up a presence in the region.
- https://tech.yahoo.com/transportation/articles/waymo-recalls-1-200-robotaxis-093704549.html – Alphabet-owned Waymo has recalled 1,212 of its robotaxis to fix a software glitch that may cause the cars to run into roadway barriers, such as chains and gates. According to a recall report shared by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the recall is for cars equipped with the 5th generation of Waymo’s automated driving systems (ADS) running software versions released before November 7, 2024. A software update rolled out by December 26, 2024, has “significantly reduced the likelihood of collisions with chains, gates, and other gate-like roadway barriers,” the report adds. The recall arrived after the NHTSA initiated a probe against Waymo in May 2024. The agency found seven incidents of collisions with chains or gates between 2022 and 2024, and an internal Waymo investigation found the occurrence of nine more similar incidents in 2024. Thankfully, none of these collisions resulted in injuries. “We hold ourselves to a high safety standard, and our record of reducing injuries over tens of millions of fully autonomous miles driven shows our technology is making roads safer,” a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement. “NHTSA plays a vital role in road safety, and we will continue to work collaboratively with the agency as part of our mission to be the world’s most trusted driver.” This comes after Waymo published a safety report comparing its autonomous vehicles (AVs) with human-driven cars. Per the report, Waymo cars recorded 81% fewer injury-causing crashes and 64% fewer police-reported crashes in Phoenix and San Francisco through 2024. Waymo has issued recalls in the past, too. In February 2024, the company recalled its entire autonomous fleet after two of its cars collided with a backward-facing truck that was being towed. A few months later, 672 vehicles were recalled after a car hit a wooden utility pole in Arizona. Waymo currently has a fleet of 1,500 AVs operating in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, according to Reuters. The ride-hailing service services 250,000 paid rides a week.
- https://tech.yahoo.com/transportation/articles/waymo-driverless-cars-now-drive-193000210.html – Waymo has entered a new era of autonomous ride-hailing, with its driverless robotaxis now cleared to operate on highways and interstates across key U.S. regions. The move represents the most significant expansion in the company’s history, allowing fully driverless cars to travel between major hubs such as downtown San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and regional airports, routes that previously required hand-offs or conventional ride-hail vehicles. For the first time, riders can request a Waymo and take a continuous, high-speed freeway trip without a human safety driver, opening the door to broader adoption, longer journeys, and a more viable alternative to traditional taxi and rideshare services.
- https://tech.yahoo.com/transportation/articles/waymo-keep-testing-robotaxis-nyc-170220580.html – New York City regulators have extended Waymo’s autonomous vehicle testing permit through the end of the year, the company said Wednesday. The permit was initially granted in August to allow Waymo to test its robotaxis in the city until the end of September. The terms of the extended permit are the same: Waymo can deploy up to eight of its Jaguar I-Pace vehicles in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn with a human safety operator behind the wheel. A spokesperson for Waymo said the permit makes the company’s drivers exempt from New York’s rules mandating they keep one hand on the wheel at all times. Waymo’s permit extension signals that it is inching toward being the first AV company to launch a robotaxi service on the chaotic and dense streets of NYC. The company currently operates a commercial service in San Francisco, Austin, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, and plans to open to the public in Miami, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Denver, and Nashville within the next year.
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
10
Notes:
The narrative is based on a press release issued by WeRide on November 17, 2025, announcing the grant of a permit for fully driverless robotaxi operations in Abu Dhabi. This is the first city-level commercial permit for Level 4 autonomous driving issued outside the United States, and the first international company to achieve this milestone in the UAE. ([globenewswire.com](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/11/17/3189039/0/en/weride-secures-world-s-first-city-level-fully-driverless-robotaxi-permit-outside-the-u-s.html?utm_source=openai)) The press release provides the earliest known publication date and is considered original content. The announcement is fresh and has not been republished across low-quality sites or clickbait networks. The press release format typically warrants a high freshness score. No discrepancies in figures, dates, or quotes were identified. The content is original and has not appeared more than 7 days earlier. The article includes updated data and does not recycle older material.
Quotes check
Score:
10
Notes:
The press release includes direct quotes from Jennifer Li, CFO and Head of International at WeRide, stating, “WeRide makes history as the first company to pilot fully driverless Robotaxis in the Middle East region, showcasing our autonomous leadership in one of the world’s most dynamic urban environments.” A search for the earliest known usage of this quote reveals no earlier appearances, indicating it is original content. No variations in wording were found, and no identical quotes appear in earlier material. The absence of online matches suggests the content is potentially original or exclusive.
Source reliability
Score:
10
Notes:
The narrative originates from a reputable organisation, WeRide Inc., a global leader in autonomous driving technology. The press release is hosted on WeRide’s official website, which is a legitimate and verifiable source. The content is consistent with other reputable outlets, such as GlobeNewswire, which also published the press release. ([globenewswire.com](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/11/17/3189039/0/en/weride-secures-world-s-first-city-level-fully-driverless-robotaxi-permit-outside-the-u-s.html?utm_source=openai)) The source is reliable and trustworthy.
Plausability check
Score:
10
Notes:
The narrative makes a significant claim about WeRide receiving a city-level commercial permit for Level 4 autonomous driving in Abu Dhabi, a first outside the United States. This claim is corroborated by other reputable sources, including GlobeNewswire and the UAE’s Integrated Transport Centre. ([globenewswire.com](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/11/17/3189039/0/en/weride-secures-world-s-first-city-level-fully-driverless-robotaxi-permit-outside-the-u-s.html?utm_source=openai)) The report includes specific factual anchors, such as dates (October 31, 2025), names (WeRide, Uber, TXAI), and locations (Abu Dhabi), enhancing its credibility. The language and tone are consistent with official corporate communications, and the structure is focused on the claim without excessive or off-topic detail. The tone is formal and appropriate for the subject matter.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH
Summary:
The narrative is based on a recent press release from WeRide, announcing the grant of a permit for fully driverless robotaxi operations in Abu Dhabi. The content is original, with no evidence of recycled material or discrepancies. The source is reliable, and the claims made are plausible and corroborated by other reputable outlets. The language and tone are consistent with official corporate communications. Therefore, the overall assessment is a PASS with high confidence.
