- WeRide, Uber and AVOMO secured Spain’s first national L4 robotaxi operating license from DGT, advancing Madrid toward public commercial robotaxi services planned for 2026.
- The initial deployment will use dozens of Robotaxi GXR vehicles with WeRide’s latest autonomous stack, phased testing with onboard safety operators, and hailings via the Uber app.
- Targeting urban ride-hailing rivals, the joint model reduces capex by splitting tech, platform and fleet roles, but faces execution risks around regulatory approvals, scaling fleets, and timely testing.
WeRide secured an L4 autonomous passenger vehicle operating license in Madrid in partnership with Uber and AVOMO, the autonomous driving business of Moove Cars Group.
The license was issued by Spain’s Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) under the ES-AV framework on September 10.
The permit also represents Spain’s first national-level authorization for an L4 Robotaxi project to operate on public roads.
The license means WeRide, Uber and AVOMO’s Robotaxi project in Madrid has formally entered the preparation phase for commercial operations.
Under the plan, the three companies will open the Robotaxi service to the public in 2026 after completing preliminary testing and meeting regulatory requirements.
Users will be able to hail the autonomous vehicles through the Uber app.
Madrid marks WeRide and Uber’s first European city for commercial Robotaxi deployment, and their fourth worldwide collaboration site.
In June, WeRide and Uber announced plans to launch Spain’s first commercial Robotaxi pilot service in Madrid.
Zurich also became the second European city in their joint expansion plan that month, with public operations scheduled to begin in 2026.
Under their plan, WeRide and Uber will expand Robotaxi services to 15 cities worldwide by 2030 and deploy tens of thousands of autonomous vehicles.
The first phase will involve dozens of Robotaxi GXR vehicles equipped with WeRide’s latest-generation autonomous driving technology.
The vehicles will undergo testing and commercial operations in several high-demand areas of Madrid, with safety operators still onboard during the initial phase.
For autonomous driving companies, Europe is emerging as an important commercialization market after China and the United States.
As one of Europe’s major automotive production and tourism markets, Spain has substantial urban mobility demand, while Madrid’s established ride-hailing ecosystem provides an operating base for Robotaxi services.
The project uses a three-way operating model involving WeRide, Uber and AVOMO.
WeRide is responsible for autonomous driving technology, Uber provides the mobility platform and customer access, while AVOMO handles vehicle operations and fleet management.
The model avoids requiring a single company to independently shoulder vehicle procurement, fleet operations and customer acquisition.
It is closer to the operating structure increasingly used for commercial autonomous-driving deployment.
With the latest authorization, WeRide has become the only technology company globally whose products hold autonomous-driving licenses in nine countries.
These include China, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
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