WeRide and Uber launch Madrid robotaxi

WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) and Uber announced on 2 June 2026 that they will launch Spain's first commercial robotaxi pilot in the Region of Madrid, with passenger trials scheduled between summer and autumn and a full service set to open in December.

The deployment is structured around three parties bound by existing capital ties. WeRide provides the WeRide One L4 autonomous driving software stack, licensing it to fleet operators rather than owning vehicles itself. Uber supplies the ride-hailing platform through which passengers book journeys. Fleet operations sit with AVOMO, a Moove Cars Group company headquartered in Madrid that already manages over 400 autonomous vehicles across Austin and Atlanta in partnership with Uber. Uber holds a 30% minority interest in Moove Cars, meaning the three-party arrangement is secured by equity, not only contracts.

Rides will be available through the Uber app. The fleet will initially operate with trained vehicle operators on board, with the companies working toward fully driverless commercial operation as milestones are reached.

"Launching driverless Robotaxis in Madrid, one of Europe's fastest-growing urban environments, demonstrates our ability to operate safely in complex real-world conditions. Spain is our fifth European market entry and further strengthens our position as a trusted Robotaxi operator across the continent. Together with Uber, we're combining our autonomous driving technology with their mobility platform to accelerate commercialisation at scale." — Dr. Tony Han, Founder and CEO, WeRide.

Spain's Dirección General de Tráfico has already authorised WeRide and Uber to begin tests, a clearance that any new entrant must independently secure under a multi-phase programme measured in months to years. That authorisation places Madrid ahead of London, where Waymo, Wayve, and Baidu's Apollo Go are all preparing trials for 2026 but have not yet launched. Pony.ai, a direct Chinese rival to WeRide, ran a comparable pilot structure in Zagreb with Uber and Croatian startup Verne in April 2026, covering approximately 10 vehicles. Madrid is structurally larger and carries a national regulatory framework already shaped toward Level 4 and 5 operation, following a public consultation launched by Spain's DGT in June 2024 and a drafted Royal Decree on automated vehicle circulation.

WeRide was the first autonomous driving company to receive operating permits across eight markets, China, the UAE, Singapore, France, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, and the United States, a regulatory footprint that underpins its asset-light model and that no European or Western rival has replicated.

The Madrid announcement is the fourth city confirmed under the WeRide, Uber partnership, which was first signed in September 2024 and expanded in May 2025 to target 15 cities globally over five years. Separately, seventeen European transport ministers signed a declaration in June 2026 supporting large-scale cross-border autonomous vehicle testing, pointing toward a coordinated European framework that would reduce the friction of city-by-city permit applications.

"This launch will mark an important milestone in AVOMO's international expansion which further strengthens our position as a global autonomous mobility operator. After nearly two years of close collaboration with Uber in the United States, we are entering this next phase with a long-term vision and a strong commitment to building efficient, scalable operations across new markets." — Manuel Puga, CEO, Moove Cars Group.

For AVOMO, the Madrid contract converts two years of US operational credibility and an existing Uber capital relationship into the first commercial robotaxi fleet operations role in its home country. If the pilot scales to full driverless service, a Spanish operator holds the infrastructure position across what may become one of Europe's largest autonomous vehicle markets before any domestic or foreign competitor has filed for a DGT permit.