Uber and WeRide are partnering to offer robo-taxi services in Abu Dhabi.
Provided by Uber Technologies, Inc.
Uber On Friday, the two companies announced they would partner with China’s WeRide to provide self-driving car travel services in Abu Dhabi.
First, each WeRide robot taxi hailed through the Uber app will be equipped with a human driver “to ensure a safe and reliable experience for passengers and pedestrians,” Uber said in a press statement. Their goal is to have fully driverless commercial services in Abu Dhabi later in 2025.
Robotaxis will begin operating on routes between Saadiyat Island and Yas Island, as well as to and from Zayed International Airport.
Uber’s partners in the UAE, Wen Yuanxingis a Chinese autonomous vehicle developer. The company, which is listed on Nasdaq, also holds licenses to test or test and operate autonomous vehicles in Dubai, China, Singapore and the United States, according to its website.
BEIJING, CHINA – JULY 11: People photograph WeRide Robobus, a fully driverless shuttle with SAE Level 4 autonomous driving capabilities, at the Beijing High-Level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone on July 11, 2024 in Beijing, China . (Photo by Jia Tianyong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)
China News Service | China News Service | Getty Images
During its third-quarter earnings call in late October, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi boasted that the ride-hailing and delivery platform had partnered with more than a dozen different self-driving car companies.
“Our self-driving strategy is working,” he added, “and self-driving partners clearly understand the significant value that Uber can bring to their deployment plans.”
An Uber spokesperson told CNBC that prior to the UAE expansion, Uber was already serving tens of thousands of self-driving vehicle rides in the U.S. each month.
In a report Wednesday from Redburn Atlantic, analyst James Cordwell pointed to potential “structural risks from autonomous vehicles” to Uber’s core mobility business. letterToday, Waymo is both a partner and a potential competitive threat to Uber in the United States.
“We believe autonomous driving will significantly expand the addressable market and that Uber is well-positioned to become an aggregator of autonomous vehicle providers,” Coldwell wrote. The firm has a buy rating on Uber stock with a price target of 2025 by the end of 2025. $90.
About The Author
