WeRide Pilots First Robotaxi Service in China’s First-Tier City Guangzhou
In November 2019, WeRide launched a robotaxi pilot program in China’s first-tier city Guangzhou. As the first robotaxi fleet operating in tier-1 Chinese city, this marks a significant milestone in robotaxi commercialization.
The pilot program is operated by “WeRide RoboTaxi”, a joint venture founded in August by WeRide and its strategic partners which include Baiyun Taxi Group, a Guangzhou Public Transport Group subsidiary and the largest taxi company in southern China, and SCI (Guangzhou) Group.
In the first phase of its operations, WeRide RoboTaxi is deploying dozens of tobotaxis empowered by WeRide’s L4 autonomous driving technology on the urban open roads. The operation covers 144.65 square kilometers in the Huangpu and Guangzhou Development District in Guangzhou, providing the locals with RoboTaxi services on their daily commute.
The WeRide RoboTaxi fleet
The WeRide RoboTaxi fleet made its debut at the launching ceremony in Guangzhou. The fleet applies WeRide’s latest full stack L4 autonomous driving software and hardware solutions onto Nissan’s fully electric vehicles. The WeRide vehicles are the same in appearance as the regular taxis operated by Baidu Taxi Group and have the same meters. Safety drivers are behind the wheels who possess the qualifications as both taxi drivers and autonomous vehicles’ safety driver. The fleet will provide locals with a safe, convenient and comfortable autonomous driving experience. The robotaxi ride-hailing app “WeRide Go” is now available to Android and iOS devices.
The WeRide RoboTaxi fleet
Attendees at the ceremony took rides to Xiangxue International Apartment, Luogang Wanda Square and many other destinations in the district.
People take WeRide robotaxis at the launching ceremony
WeRide has always been a frontrunner in autonomous driving technology development and robotaxi commercialization. Li Zhang, COO of WeRide and CEO of WeRide RoboTaxi said at the ceremony: “We will continue to improve our robotaxi products and services, and create a business model that best fits China market and can be easily adopted at a local level.”
In the upcoming future, WeRide robotaxis will be distributed to more cities and regions in China to provide services for more passengers, Li added.
Li Zhang, COO of WeRide & CEO of WeRide RoboTaxi, gives a speech at the ceremony
WeRide established its global headquarters in Guangzhou in 2017. With the support from the Huangpu and Guangzhou Development District, the company has made tremendous progress during the past two years, leading the industry’s development in numerous ways.
WeRide launched China’s first long-term autonomous vehicle trial operation on Guangzhou’s Bio Island in 2018. It is the first company to deploy long-distance tunnel crossing autonomous driving technology in China (without the use of GPS) and completed a safe autonomous driving test on a public road during heavy rainfall. WeRide became the first autonomous driving company in China to remotely control a driverless car by using a 5G network in September 2018. The company obtained 20 Guangzhou autonomous driving road test licenses plates, 2nd most in China just after Baidu. The WeRide RoboTaxi joint venture is the first of its kind to provide autonomous driving mobility services in China’s Tier-1 cities.
WeRide has been focusing on product-oriented technological development. The all-in-one algorithm solution “WeRide ONE” is designed for all weather and traffic scenarios in urban robotaxi operations. With products developed specifically for robotaxi such as “WeRide Go” and “WeRide Viz”, WeRide robotaxis can offer a comfortable and safe experience for passengers.
About WeRide
WeRide is a smart mobility company in China that creates leading L4 autonomous driving technologies. We have committed ourselves to new mobility services that will be accessible and beneficial to everyone. WeRide is China’s first L4 autonomous driving technology start-up company to obtain strategic investment from a top-tier global automaker Alliance Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi. We employ a highly skilled technology team of more than 300 employees globally, 70% of whom are R&D engineers. Established in 2017, WeRide is headquartered in Guangzhou, China, and maintains R&D and operation centers in Beijing, Shanghai and Anqing, as well as Silicon Valley in the USA. For more information, please visit www.weride.ai.
About WeRide RoboTaxi
WeRide RoboTaxi is a smart mobility company, aiming at providing future robo-taxi services in China (new mobility services enabled by autonomous driving technology). It is a joint venture co-founded by WeRide, a leading L4 autonomous driving mobility company, Baiyun Taxi Group, the largest taxi company in South China under Guangzhou Public Transport Group, and SCI (Guangzhou) Group. It is dedicated to the application of China’s leading L4 autonomous driving technology to provide passengers with safe, economical, convenient and reliable smart mobility services.
