Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On July 28, 2025, WeRide, a Chinese autonomous driving technology company, announced that its Robotaxi has received Saudi Arabia's first autonomous driving license. With this milestone, WeRide becomes the world's only company to hold autonomous vehicle licenses across six countries—Saudi Arabia, China, the UAE, Singapore, France, and the United States.
The license grants WeRide the authority to operate its autonomous vehicles throughout Saudi Arabia, marking a major step toward nationwide deployment of its Robotaxi service. The pilot phase has already launched in Riyadh, in partnership with Uber and local tech firm AiDriver.
The pilot program began earlier this month, covering key locations in Riyadh including King Khalid International Airport, major highways, and designated downtown areas. Full-scale commercial Robotaxi operations in Riyadh, jointly run by Uber and WeRide, are slated for launch by the end of 2025.
The official license approval was granted during Saudi Arabia's inaugural Robotaxi pilot launch event last week, signaling the green light for commercial autonomous mobility services in the Kingdom.
WeRide said it is the first autonomous driving company whose Robotaxi has passed through the regulatory sandbox program overseen by Saudi Arabia's Transport General Authority ("TGA"). Securing the license required extensive vetting by multiple government agencies, including rigorous testing, evaluation, and technology validation to ensure maximum safety and performance standards. The regulatory sandbox allows companies to trial new technologies within a monitored environment before full commercial rollout.
The recent licensing milestone follows WeRide's formal entry into the Saudi market in May. Beyond Robotaxi services, the company has also deployed its Robobus in several Saudi locations, including King Fahad Medical City, the Aramco residential compound, AlUla, and the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh.
WeRide's autonomous street-sweeping vehicle, the S1, is also in operation at King Fahad Medical City and the Riyadh Second Health Cluster. This marks the Middle East's first commercial deployment of autonomous sanitation services.
Meanwhile, WeRide is accelerating its broader Middle East expansion. In Abu Dhabi, the company is currently conducting the region's first fully driverless Robotaxi trials, with plans to extend service to Dubai in the near future.
