On June 17, the globally leading autonomous driving technology company WeRide Inc. (NASDAQ: WRD, HKEX: 00800) and the international mobility services giant Uber (NYSE: UBER) announced plans to launch a commercial Robotaxi service in Zurich, Switzerland.
This marks the second city in the European market for their collaborative Robotaxi deployment, following Madrid, Spain, as WeRide's European commercial expansion gains full momentum.
Supported by the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), the Robotaxi service in Zurich is expected to officially launch within this year. Upon completion of regulatory approvals, local users will be able to hail a WeRide Robotaxi with one tap via the Uber app.
As one of the regions with Europe's most mature autonomous driving regulatory frameworks, Switzerland not only offers an open and well-developed policy environment but is also a significant global market for premium mobility, providing a solid foundation for the scaled commercial operation of Robotaxis.
Currently, WeRide has established a leading commercial autonomous driving footprint in Switzerland.
In January 2025, WeRide's Robobus commenced operations at Zurich Airport, becoming Europe's first autonomous driving project in an airport setting and achieving commercial operation without a safety driver in the front seat.
In November 2025, WeRide's Robotaxi obtained Switzerland's first pure driverless license, advancing trial operations in collaboration with Swiss Transit Lab (STL) and Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), further solidifying its first-mover advantage in commercial autonomous driving deployment.
Looking ahead, WeRide and Uber will gradually expand the fleet size based on regulatory requirements and operational performance, aiming to extend the pure driverless commercial Robotaxi service into Zurich's core urban areas.
The Zurich project continues WeRide's asset-light operating strategy. By partnering with local companies possessing fleet investment and operational capabilities, WeRide can further enhance the efficiency of large-scale Robotaxi deployment.
In Zurich, the local mobility and logistics operator Rydera will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the vehicle fleet.
This progress also benefits from the mature international collaboration model accumulated by WeRide and Uber. Since December 2024, the two companies have launched Robotaxi services in multiple cities in the Middle East, including initiating pure driverless commercial operations in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and launching public Robotaxi services in Riyadh, accumulating rich experience for continued expansion in the European market.
Leveraging its self-developed universal autonomous driving technology platform WeRide One and the world model WeRide GENESIS, WeRide can fully reuse the technology and operational experience accumulated across multiple global locations, ensuring the stability and consistency of the Zurich Robotaxi service.
With the advancement of the Zurich project, WeRide and Uber have now completed deployments in 5 out of the 15 international cities covered by their cooperation agreement.
In the future, the partners plan to deploy tens of thousands of Robotaxis globally, accelerating the worldwide adoption of safe and reliable autonomous mobility services.
Li Xuan, CFO and Head of International Business at WeRide, stated: "Europe is a key region in WeRide's global strategic layout. Announcing deployment plans for two European cities within two weeks fully demonstrates the execution efficiency and deployment speed of our global expansion. Zurich, as a global business hub and premium mobility market, is an ideal scenario for the commercial development of Robotaxis. We will continue to work hand-in-hand with Uber to promote the scaled development of autonomous mobility worldwide."
Sarfraz Maredia, Global Head of Autonomous Mobility & Delivery at Uber, said: "Switzerland is a significant market for autonomous mobility, where forward-looking regulatory environments and high-quality mobility demand create favorable conditions for Robotaxi service deployment. The collaboration between WeRide and Uber in Europe continues to progress steadily. We look forward to bringing Uber's operational expertise to Zurich to provide local users with a new generation of autonomous mobility services."
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