WeRide pilots RoboTaxi service in Guangzhou, China

WeRide, China’s leading L4 autonomous driving mobility company, has launched a RoboTaxi pilot programme in Guangzhou, China.

As the first RoboTaxi fleet operating in Tier-1 Chinese city, this marks a significant milestone in RoboTaxi commercialisation.

The pilot programme 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 RoboTaxis empowered by WeRide's L4 autonomous driving technology on the urban open roads. The operation covers 144.65 square kilometres in the Huangpu and Guangzhou Development District in Guangzhou, providing the locals with RoboTaxi services on their daily commute.

The WeRide RoboTaxi fleet made its debut at a 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.

Attendees at the ceremony took rides to Xiangxue International Apartment, Luogang Wanda Square and many other destinations in the district. On Nov 29th, the RoboTaxis were made available to the public in the district.

WeRide has always been a frontrunner in autonomous driving technology development and RoboTaxi commercialisation. 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 future, WeRide RoboTaxis will be distributed to more cities and regions in China to provide services for more passengers, Li added. 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, second 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.