WeRide Gets UAE’s First City-Wide Permit for Fully Driverless Robotaxis

Chinese autonomous driving pioneer WeRide has become the first international company to receive city-wide approval in the UAE to operate fully driverless robotaxis—with no onboard safety personnel. Granted on 31 October, the permit authorises SAE Level 4 autonomous operations on Abu Dhabi’s public roads, marking a major milestone in the region’s mobility landscape.

Weride Taxi

WeRide has been running robotaxi services in Abu Dhabi with partner TXAI since 2021, initially with safety drivers. The company further strengthened its presence through a partnership with Uber in December 2024, expanding coverage in mid-2025 to nearly half of the emirate’s core districts, including Al Reem and Al Maryah islands.

This approval comes after extensive validation trials conducted earlier in 2025 to ensure reliability for driver-out operations. WeRide reports that its autonomous fleet has logged close to one million kilometres in Abu Dhabi as of October 2025.

The company had earlier secured the UAE’s first national licence for autonomous testing in July 2023, but commercial deployment still depended on emirate-level clearances. The new permit now clears a major cost roadblock by eliminating the need for safety operators, helping WeRide move toward breakeven unit economics.

Looking ahead, WeRide plans to scale aggressively—targeting a 1,000-vehicle robotaxi fleet by 2026, followed by tens of thousands by 2030. In partnership with TXAI and Uber, the company aims to cover most of Abu Dhabi’s city centre by the end of 2025, pushing the emirate closer to becoming a global hub for autonomous mobility.



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