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Dubai, UAE – April 2, 2025 – WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD), a global leader in autonomous driving technology, is integrating its self-driving robotaxis into Dubai’s public transportation system through a partnership with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER). This collaboration marks a significant milestone in WeRide and Uber’s mission to make autonomous mobility a global reality, reinforcing their position as the partners of choice in bringing cutting-edge technology closer to people. 

Renowned for its safe and reliable performance, WeRide made history in July 2023 by securing the UAE’s first national license for self-driving vehicles on public roads—the first national-level driverless license in the Middle East and even globally, covering all types of autonomous vehicles (AVs). WeRide’s latest launch in Dubai follows its successful robotaxi launch in Abu Dhabi in 2021, making it the leading autonomous mobility technology provider in the Middle East. This launch also represents the second city in the region where WeRide and Uber are collaborating to bring cutting-edge autonomous mobility solutions to the public.

**His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer**, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, said: “This partnership with Uber, starting with WeRide as the technology partner, represents a crucial step in advancing Dubai’s Self-Driving Transport Strategy, which aims to transform 25% of all journeys in the city into autonomous trips across various transport modes by 2030. This collaboration underscore RTA’s commitment to engaging with global technology leaders and forms part of a series of autonomous mobility trials launched in 2016, which have grown in diversity over the past years.”

**Jennifer Li**, Chief Financial Officer and Head of International Business at WeRide, stated:“Dubai marks a natural step forward in our commitment to advancing mobility in the Middle East as well as our continued global expansion. We believe our advanced autonomous driving technology and operational experience combined with Uber’s powerful global mobility platform will help us serve millions of consumers in cities around the world.”

WeRide, Uber and RTA will collaborate on pilot programs, leveraging Uber’s technology to match riders with WeRide's robotaxis while ensuring a seamless and user-friendly experience. The partnership will also explore data insights, safety protocols, and regulatory frameworks to support a smooth transition to autonomous mobility in Dubai.

**Noah Zych,** Uber’s Global Head of Autonomous Mobility and Delivery Operations, said: 
“We’re thrilled to be working with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority to bring autonomous vehicles onto the Uber platform, starting with our technology partner WeRide. At Uber, we’re building the future of transportation, working with the world’s leading autonomous vehicle developers to help commercialize and deploy this technology at scale around the world.”

He added: “With WeRide as our first AV technology partner in the UAE, we’re providing riders with a reliable and forward-thinking mobility solution that aligns with the country’s ambitions for smart cities and future transport.”

This partnership in Dubai builds on WeRide’s global expertise in autonomous driving and Uber’s global leadership in ride-hailing and mobility solutions, positioning Dubai as a pioneering hub for smart transportation.

More details on the launch and next steps for the autonomous vehicle pilot in Dubai will be announced in the coming months.

**About WeRide**

WeRide is a global leader and a first mover in the autonomous driving industry, as well as the first publicly traded Robotaxi company. The company operates in over 30 cities across 10 countries, holding driverless permits in China, the UAE, Singapore, France and the US. Empowered by the smart, versatile, cost-effective, and highly adaptable WeRide One platform, WeRide provides autonomous driving products and services from L2 to L4, addressing transportation needs in the mobility, logistics, and sanitation industries. WeRide was named to Fortune Magazine’s 2024 “The Future 50” list. 
Media Contact for WeRide: pr@weride.ai

**About Uber**

Uber’s mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 58 billion trips later, we’re building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.
Media Contact: press@uber.com
Investor Contact: investor@uber.com 


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WeRide Brings Robotaxis to Dubai with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority and Uber

Paris, France – March 27, 2025 – WeRide (Nasdaq: WRD), a world leader in autonomous driving technology, announced that the company, in partnership with the leading French autonomous mobility network operator beti, has obtained France’s Level-4 driverless public road testing and operating permit. This makes WeRide the first and only technology company worldwide to hold driverless permits across five countries: China, the UAE, Singapore, France, and the U.S. This remarkable milestone underscores WeRide’s global leadership, demonstrating its unparalleled technological capability and adaptability to diverse regulatory frameworks, and unwavering commitment to safety, compliance, and scalability in autonomous mobility.
![1.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/1_6947dfd961.jpg)

Under the 2019 PACTE law, acquiring a driverless permit in France requires approval from multiple government agencies, coordinated by the Directorate General for Energy and Climate (DGEC), in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Ecological Transition. The process involves thorough evaluations of technical documents, safety protocols, and operational plans. WeRide and beti completed this rigorous process in three months—setting a record for France’s fastest driverless permit approval. This achievement highlights WeRide’s dedication to meeting the highest European standards for safety and operational excellence.
![2.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/2_e0f21de0bd.jpg)

With this new permit, WeRide’s autonomous minibus is authorized to operate at speeds of up to 40 km/h, marking the highest-speed driverless permit issued in France to date.

On February 27, WeRide, in collaboration with beti, Renault Group, and Macif, launched Europe’s first public-road commercial autonomous minibus service in Valence, Drôme, France. The acquisition of the permit provides crucial regulatory backing and government endorsement, reinforcing the project’s progress. By July 2025, the partners aim to introduce a fully driverless commercial operation with one-to-multiple remote hypervision.
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As a global pioneer and leader in autonomous mobility, WeRide has established a strong presence in 30 cities across 10 countries. The company’s innovative fleet of pre-designed, mass-produced autonomous vehicles—including robotaxi, robobus, and robosweeper—has already been deployed in France, Spain, Switzerland, Singapore, the UAE, Japan, and more.
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Committed to building an open and collaborative ecosystem, WeRide has forged strategic partnerships with leading industry players, including Uber, the world’s largest mobility and delivery technology company; Renault Group, a top-tier global OEM; beti, a leading European autonomous mobility network operator; CTM, Singapore’s Tier-1 environmental services provider; Zurich Airport, one of Europe’s busiest transportation hubs; and Macif, a prominent French insurance company.


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WeRide Obtains France’s Level-4 Driverless Permit, Becoming the Only Tech Company with Driverless Permits in Five Countries

On March 17, Tony Han, Founder and CEO of WeRide, was interviewed by Bloomberg, a premier global financial media outlet, on The China Show. During the interview, he shared insights into the company’s global commercialization strategy, competitive approach, and future development plans.
![推文封面.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/_a6947db2a4.jpg)

Below is the full transcript of the interview.


**Bloomberg：**
We were watching shares of Chinese self-driving company WeRide on Friday because it reported earnings before the bell. It was actually their first earnings release as a listed company on the NASDAQ. Now we saw the share price really rising intraday closing up 13%. That was actually despite losses widening in the 4th quarter, we also saw revenue declining. So, an interesting earnings release and certainly one, even with those sorts of softer or weaker spots, still was interpreted very positively by a lot of analysts and traders. Let’s get more now with the WeRide founder and CEO. This is Tony Han joining us this morning for an exclusive interview.

Tony, I want to get your reaction to those numbers because as it said, there were some softer spots. But still we saw a positive market reaction. So, what’s your reaction in particular.

**Tony Han：**
Over the past year and the first quarter, we do have some kind of increasing expenses. But overall, the technology has progressed very well and we are expanding to 30 cities in 10 countries and our robotaxi has been announced (that) by the mid of 2025 we will have 50 robotaxis running on the Uber platform in Abu Dhabi. And so there is lots of progress. I think that’s the exciting progress in both R&D and the operation, and in the sales numbers, especially for robotaxi and new products. All of these factors combining together give us a very good performance in the stock market.

**Bloomberg：**
Can you share some more details on the expansion? Because just to give people some context here, speaking about the robotaxi fleet specifically, you’ve got around 400 vehicles in that, 300 roughly are in mainland of China. The rest are abroad. Lots of those are expected to be, at least in the UAE. But where would you go, in the UAE or in the Middle East more broadly? And where would you also go next in other international markets?

**Tony Han：**
So, in UAE, we actually have already started to operate in the major area in Abu Dhabi like the Yas Island, Saadiyat Island and the route through Zayed International Airport, and many key areas in Abu Dhabi. We also started our robobus in trial operation in Barcelona. And also, we have our robotaxi and robobus operation in Zurich Airport and also robotaxi operation in Zurich. And we will have more to come maybe in Japan, and also in France. So, there are lots of cities we are trying to explore right now.

We believe one unique thing of WeRide is (that) WeRide is a global company, and we try to expand our autonomous driving service to the global market. And we are building a very strong business development team, very strong sales network, and we are trying to build very general autonomous driving technology to support the operation and service globally. So, that’s roughly our rough plan about expansion in the global market.

**Bloomberg：**
Tony, I want to pick up on that point about your expansion in the global market. I did see that pedestrians and riders were able to ride one of your minibuses for free in Barcelona last week. That was a trial of the robobus that you mentioned just then. So, beyond the robotaxis, what is the strategy and what are the targets for expanding vehicles in the minibus area, in the van area? And where are the markets that you’re focusing for those sorts of vehicles?

**Tony Han：**
I think, for the market that we try to focus, that is mainly for some markets that are short of labors. So, one thing we don’t want to do is (that) we are not killing human jobs, you know. We are trying to solve some society issues. For some markets that there is an aging society and short of labors, and you want to try to use the machine to fill the gap between the actual demand and the shortage of labor. So that’s what we are trying to do.

So, besides robotaxi, our robosweeper is trying to fill the gap between the shortage of the manpower and the high demand in sanitation industry. For robovan, (it’s the) same thing for logistic delivery. And for the minibus in public transportation, in some European countries, they are short of bus drivers. So, we will focus on these markets that have some shortage, especially driver shortage problem and we try to solve it. We want to supply a solution with much more economic efficiency. That’s a much safer solution.

And if you sit in our robo-minibus, you can feel (that) the smoothness of this robobus is kind of even better than a human bus driver. It feels like a human bus driver. You never feel like this kind of motion sickness or jerkiness, like you usually experience in a bus. In minibus, it’s just like you’re sitting in a private cabinet and driven by your private chauffer, and it’s very smooth and the view is fantastic. You’re just like sitting there. So, I think, I believe with all of this, we can supply a very good user experience to our users.

**Bloomberg：**
I mean, you talk about places where there’s aging populations or maybe a shortage of labor supply. And of course, you mentioned Japan as well. So, this is clearly going to be a key market. But, I want to talk about that business model that you have as well. Because the approach of WeRide is to find local partners in each market to sell the vehicles, charge a fixed service fee and have a revenue sharing agreement in place. You already have this partnership with Uber in the Middle East. Would you look to also partner with Uber in Japan?

**Tony Han：**
Oh, that’s a very good question. So basically, our philosophy or methodology is (that) we want to closely work with our partners. But for the expansion, we don’t want to become dominant. We just want to be a kind of autonomous driving technology and the transportation power supplier. So, we want to very well align with Uber’s expansion in Japan. But that’s not saying we are not doing Japan market. If Uber don’t have a very eminent plan to expand in Japan, we can also find some local partners. Actually, for minibus, we have already started.

And there are several, I would say, several dimensions about expansion. One is like geographically, you know how to expand. The other one is about products. For example, in Europe, minibus is people’s favorite product, you know. Because people like to take public transportation in Europe. So we focus our minibus in European market. In Japan, we are also starting the market. That’s how we expand.

**Bloomberg：**
But going to Japan in particular, I’m interested because Uber is in Japan. So, that would be a natural partner for you. How though are you also gonna be going up against competitors in this space? Because Waymo, for instance, that’s the subsidiary of Alphabet, also has its own autonomous driving fleet. They’re also looking at expanding into Japan. So, with your business model, how do you compete with names like Waymo, to be the partner of companies like Uber?

**Tony Han：**
Okay. I think our main strategy is trying to expand our robotaxi service in a very efficient and in a very stable way. And good thing to team up with Uber is that Uber has already had a very strong network of human driven taxi. The thing is (that) when you adopt autonomous driving technology, for example, if you want to take over one city and have a very good estimate of time of arrival, you have to deploy at least 1000 or sometimes 5000 cars in that single city. That costs a huge burden.

On the other hand, the collaboration pattern of Uber and WeRide is (that) we roll out the robotaxi in a hybrid mode. That is (that) some of the orders request will be fulfilled by robotaxi, and some of orders will be fulfilled by the human drivers. But to users, it’s kind of a very smooth and transparent experience. I think this kind of combination give us a very strong advantage over our competitors. To my best knowledge, in the global market, the combination of WeRide and Uber is the first of the case. No other competitor has ever done. So, we look forward to keeping this kind of competition advantages.

**Bloomberg：**
One of the ways that of course you can compete is on price. I mean, on competition around price, I mean, I know that in the domestic market as well, you’re looking at having dynamic pricing, which I kind of understood as you would be looking at offering discounts. How much cheaper can you go? Not just against names like Waymo, but also the competitors within China. Because there is Baidu, Pony AI, Momenta, DeepRoute, DiDi, that has its own robotaxi fleet. I mean it’s already quite a competitive landscape.

**Tony Han：**
So, one strategy of WeRide is we don’t want to compete for the price. Frankly speaking, I think, there may be several competitors. Actually that’s not many, only very very few competitors in China can supply reliable and efficient robotaxi, not that many, although many competitors claim that they have robotaxi fleet. But if you look at it, they are only at most 3 competitors can do robotaxi operations in China.

Among all of these, I think WeRide with its strong technology, strong record, so far, for these 400 robo-vehicles, we have 0 regulatory discipline due to our system failure. That’s an extraordinary number. We are so proud of our safety record.

WeRide has 4 autonomous driving permits, driverless autonomous driving operation permits in 4 countries. There’s only one company that has got permits from 4 countries. So, for that kind of competition, we will focus on the reliability and experience.

And I personally don’t think autonomous driving, or robotaxi, or the relevant product has come to a competition for us to compete against price. It hasn’t arrived to that stage yet. I believe the final winner will be the winner who can supply the best quality of the service, not simply the lowest price.

**Bloomberg：**
I want to ask as well about the other people or other businesses you’re working with. NVIDIA of course stands out. You’re using the Blackwell system, for instance, to build your compute unit. What kind of contingencies, though, do you have in place, if there’s a move from the US to further restrict Chinese companies’ access to this sort of technology?

**Tony Han：**
Okay, first of all, I would say there are several alternatives. WeRide as a global company, we do business all over the world, (and) mainly focus on European market, Middle East market, Japan market, and Southeast Asia market. So, for the chip suppliers, if there are some restrictions on certain areas, we can always adopt an alternative approach.

Frankly speaking, for the SoC for the car industry or for autonomous driving, there are also several options. But to us, we do want to see that if possible, we can supply the best-quality, and best cost-ratio products to the consumers. That’s our strategy.

**Bloomberg：**
Just a quick one before we lose you. You plan for a secondary listing in Hong Kong?

**Tony Han：**
First of all, we haven’t made any announcement about Hong Kong IPO. We don’t have any announcement yet. If we have such announcement, we will let you know in a timely manner.

**Bloomberg：**
OK. All right. Sounds like maybe there’s something going on in the background, but nothing to say just yet publicly. That was the WeRide founder and CEO Tony Han there in San Jose. Thanks so much for joining us for that exclusive interview!


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Bloomberg Exclusive Interview with Tony Han, Founder and CEO of WeRide: The Final Winner Will Prevail Through Service Quality

On March 13, 2025, WeRide (Nasdaq: WRD), a global leader in autonomous driving technology, announced that the company has officially received the permit to conduct commercial Robotaxi ride-hailing services between the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA) and Beijing South Railway Station. 

This milestone marks the first commercial Robotaxi operation covering Beijing’s core urban area. With this development, WeRide’s commercial Robotaxi operational area in Beijing has surpassed 600 square kilometers — roughly equivalent to the total area of the six main districts of downtown Shanghai.

Starting from today, passengers can download the "WeRide Go" App to easily book a WeRide's Robotaxi with just one tap.
![1.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/1_aff7ec38ee.jpg)
（WeRide’s Robotaxi GXR at Beijing South Railway Station）
 
Beijing South Railway Station is one of the largest high-speed railway stations in Asia and one of China’s busiest rail hubs. It serves as the departure and arrival terminal for high-speed trains on the Beijing-Shanghai Railway, Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, and Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway heading to East China. During peak periods, it handles over 150,000 passengers per day. 

The approval for commercial operations at Beijing South Railway Station validates the reliability and safety of  WeRide's Robotaxi, showing that it can seamlessly handle complex and high-density traffic hub scenarios involving both pedestrian and vehicle flow.
![2.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/2_bc6c40fb75.jpg)
（WeRide’s Robotaxi GXR Entering Beijing's Core Urban Area via G106 Highway）
 
As the world’s first publicly listed Robotaxi company, WeRide has been a first mover and leader in the Robotaxi sector, with regular Robotaxi operations already launched in nearly 10 cities worldwide, including Guangzhou, Beijing, Nanjing, Ordos, Suzhou, Abu Dhabi, and Zurich. In December 2024, WeRide partnered with Uber to launch the largest Robotaxi fleet in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi. This latest breakthrough in Beijing's core urban area marks another significant step toward large-scale commercialization of WeRide's Robotaxi services.
![3.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/3_d78071bc69.jpg)
（WeRide’s Robotaxi GXR at the autonomous driving pick-up point at Beijing South Railway Station）

Looking ahead, WeRide will continue to expand the service area of its Robotaxi operations in Beijing, unlocking more scenarios at airports and high-speed railway stations, and replicate its successful business models and experiences in more overseas markets, driving the commercialization of Robotaxi on a global scale.


WeRide Launches Commercial Robotaxi Service in Beijing’s Core Urban Area for the First Time at Beijing South Railway Station

March 11, 2025 – Barcelona – WeRide (Nasdaq: WRD), a global leader in autonomous driving, and Renault Group will offer a free autonomous Robobus trial service in the center of Barcelona from March 10th to 14th, aiming to showcase the maturity and potential of automated transport technologies for the first time in a dense and complex urban environment. The demonstration highlights the technological leadership in autonomous driving solutions that WeRide and Renault are bringing to enable agile, flexible, modern, eco-friendly, and affordable mobility, especially for European cities aspiring to carbon neutrality and Low Emission Zones.
![1.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/1_fe0d125b28.jpg)

This will be WeRide and Renault Group’s first test in Spain of their Level-4 autonomous vehicle for public transport. The initiative continues the experimentation carried out by the partners during the Roland-Garros 2024 tennis tournament.
![3.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/3_92729d04ca.jpg)

"This Barcelona trial represents a pivotal moment in WeRide's international expansion strategy, demonstrating our technology leadership beyond Asian markets and into the heart of Europe," said Tony Han, founder & CEO at WeRide. "By bringing our Level-4 autonomous Robobus to navigate Barcelona's complex urban environment in real traffic conditions, we're showcasing not just the maturity of our technology, but its adaptability to diverse global settings. This collaboration with Renault Group underscores our shared vision for making smart, sustainable mobility solutions accessible worldwide.”

Last month, WeRide announced the first European fully driverless commercial deployment of its Robobus as part of a shuttle service partnership with beti, Renault Group, and Macif that will feature an L4 -level automated mobility service in France’s Dôme region. In January, WeRide announced its first commercial autonomous shuttle project in Europe at Zurich Airport, and was also chosen technology supplier for a pilot project on autonomous driving by Swiss national railway Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB). 

The experimental Robobus, which has the required authorization from Barcelona City Council and the Directorate General of Traffic, will operate from March 10th to March 14th from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on a circular itinerary of more than 2 kilometers. The goal is for riders to easily and safely discover autonomous driving in real traffic. The route will have four stops where passengers will be able to get comfortably on and off, giving riders the opportunity to experience the autonomous and sustainable driving of the future while enjoying a unique tour of Barcelona.
![2.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/2_e4146d4ebe.jpg)

Contacts:
WeRide PR 
pr@weride.ai

ICR Inc.
WeRidePR@icrinc.com



WeRide and Renault Group launch their first autonomous Robobus trial in Spain

On February 28, Tony Han, Founder and CEO of WeRide, participated in an exclusive interview with CNBC, a leading global financial news network. During the “Street Signs Asia” segment, he shared insights on WeRide’s global commercialization strategy and the societal impact of autonomous driving technology.
![微信封面.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/_f1cd127043.jpg)

The following is the full transcript of the interview.

**CNBC：**
Tony Han, the CEO of WeRide, joins us now for CNBC exclusive interview and we are very glad that he could make the time to be with us this morning. Tony, thank you very much. Please explain the expansion strategy and what you hope to achieve from it. 


**Tony Han：**
The collaboration with beti, Macif and Renault Group is a kind of unprecedented collaboration. And this is to my best knowledge, the first fully operational high-level autonomous driving shuttle deployed in a daily base. And to us, this is our first step to the European region. And also, I do believe this is a great movement because, think about the main purpose of developing autonomous driving technology, (it) is trying to make transportation safer, more efficient and more comfortable. if you have ever taken a ride in our autonomous driving bus, it's like a private cabinet and it's very comfortable. We want to really revolutionize the public transportation. It not only stands for economically efficient but should also stand for very comfortable and much safer. And we know Europe is currently an aging society and we are facing a bus driver shortage problem together. So, we want to use cutting-edge autonomous driving technology to make public transportation upgrade services for all human societies. Therefore, doing some business with autonomous driving technology and collaborating with beti, Macif and Renault Group becomes a great first step. 


**CNBC：**
Tony, you have partnered up with European companies in order to make these inroads into Europe. I'm just wondering how you're navigating some of the geopolitical challenges that Chinese companies are facing over there. I mean, it very much speaks to, I think, what you’re doing. Some of the views out there that this is exactly how it's going to be is that we're going to see more companies across Europe and China partnering up and teaming up in order to address exactly what you're talking about. But I'm just wondering how you are navigating some of those challenges with regards to Europe and the pressure from the EU. 


**Tony Han：**
If you look back to the human history, great companies have always been navigat ing across this kind of geopolitical tensions. There’re some stories I want to share with you. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, but the light bulb is not only lighting (up) America but also lighting (up) the rest of the world. And you know, human society has experienced the World War. And I'm personally I'm a pacifist and I think to navigate this kind of geopolitical tension and in the current era, it's like we are facing together. To do business in any region like in European countries, in MENA countries, in southeast Asian countries, you have to comply with all addressable regulations and laws and also really contribute to the local society. That's our philosophy. We are doing business all over the world, but we do respect the local society, and want to help the economic development of the local society. The most important thing is that we want to make this very, very helpful autonomous driving technology available to the rest of the world. 


**CNBC：**
Tony, I just want to talk a little bit about Nvidia's interest in your company. It’s not like they just came in a few weeks ago, but they have been an early investor, so they've backed your business from the start. And obviously they upped the stake that they had in your business, which led to that massive rally in your stock. What have your discussions with Jensen Huang been in terms of this autonomous driving technology? And what's your pitch been to him and what's his expectation from your company in terms of where you want to take it? 


**Tony Han：**
I have been known Jensen since the beginning of this company in the year of 2017. At that time, I was at Silicon Valley. I think Jensen is a great entrepreneur, always pushing for the great technology. At that time, WeRide is one of the best autonomous driving technology companies and we didn't have any actual real business. What we only had is our great technology. I think because of the advancement of our technology and our demonstration, and Jensen made his mind to invest us. And then later, maybe seven years later, people know Nvidia is our shareholder. To us, we have a big dream to make this company a great company and we really want to revolutionize the transportation with autonomous driving technology. To my mind, I think driving is a tedious job. And it can be a hobby, but it shouldn't be a task. And replacing the tedious job with machine is what our researchers or entrepreneurs are trying to do. Therefore, I think we will continue pursuing excellence in technology and gradually make this technology available to the transportation business. 


**CNBC：**
So, driving may be a hobby, but for many emerging markets, it's a major source of employment. And so how do you think about that, the displacement of jobs that can lead to if more and more transportation vehicles become autonomous. 


**Tony Han：**
It's a great question. I'm so excited to answer this question. I think in the 21st century, one of the key questions to the philosophers is the relationship between Mankind and the machines, more specifically AI. And there are lots of jobs used to be taken by human being and solve the employment problem, and that will gradually be taken by AI or machines. But think about in history that’s not the first time, like the programmable switch machine replaced the human operators and washing machines replaced laundry workers. Now I think for the mining business, they adopt technology a lot. I'll say it's called a migration or shift of human jobs. To me, I don't want to be a taxi driver, if I have other choices. There are always other jobs available. And I think we should put resource, inject resource, put lots of efforts to find really more amicable and more enjoyable jobs for the working class. I think they are there, for example labelling business, elder care. Also, we want to do this gradually. The key problem for our society, in many aging societies, it’s not because of jobs, but about the shortage of bus drivers or taxi drivers. So, we want to use technology, more specifically, autonomous driving technology to solve this problem. 


**CNBC：**
OK. Your big markets are China, the US, UAE and Singapore. That's where you hold driverless permits. Samantha already asked you about your political tensions and being caught in the cross of the tensions between China and the US. I'm running out of time. So, very quickly, how do we see growth playing out for your business and which are the key growth markets where you see linearity in growth? 


**Tony Han：**
So, basically all the aging societies, with a relatively high salary, I mean taxi driver salary. So basically these are our (targeting) markets. To do so, you have to really make your technology safer and make autonomous driving experience very comfortable. So that's what we’re working hard on. 


**CNBC:**
Good stuff, Tony! Absolute pleasure speaking with you today. Thank you so much for your time and breaking that all down for us.




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CNBC Exclusive Interview with Tony Han, Founder and CEO of WeRide: Autonomous Driving Will “Illuminate” the World Like the Invention of the Light Bulb

Feb. 28, 2025 - Valence - WeRide (Nasdaq: WRD), a global leader in autonomous driving technology, today announced the first European fully driverless commercial deployment of its Robobus as part of a shuttle service partnership with beti, Renault Group, and Macif that will feature an L4 -level automated mobility service in France’s Drôme region.

![1.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/1_754cd482b1.jpg)
(WeRide Robobus provides shuttle service for French residents)

At the inauguration ceremony, key representatives from the government and corporations participated in the ribbon-cutting, highlighting the strong commitment of various stakeholders in France to the project and their deep collaboration on green and low-carbon autonomous mobility solutions. Attendees included Thierry Devimeux, Prefect of Drôme; Laurent Monnet, Vice-President for Economic Affairs of Valence Romans Agglomeration Community; Jean-Claude Duclaux, Mayor of Alixan; Florence Gallay, Project Manager for “Automated Transport” at the Directorate General for Infrastructure, Transport, and Mobility (DGITM); Jennifer Li, CFO and Head of International Business at WeRide; Benjamin Beaudet, CEO of beti; Fabien Bertolami, Managing Director of Bertolami; Christian Bertolami, former CEO of Bertolami; Patrick Vergelas, Head of Autonomous Mobility Projects at Renault Group; and Yann Arnaud, Director of Responses to Member Needs and Innovation at Macif.

![2.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/2_6fd67b953a.jpg)
(WeRide and French representatives cut the ribbon at the inauguration ceremony)

WeRide will provide its L4-level autonomous technology for a passenger transport service on open roads in mixed traffic, with several six-meter-long robobuses, each able to carry eight passengers, operated by beti Automated Mobility. Beti Automated Mobility will begin operations on March 10, at the Rovaltain business park – Valence TGV station in Drôme. 

The service marks an unprecedented collaboration between these four major players, sharing the same conviction: shared automated mobility serving all regions should open up rural and suburban areas, accelerate the ecological transition and facilitate people's mobility for better access to employment, health, education, and leisure.
![3.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/2_0e135a8a31.jpg)
(WeRide Robobus provides shuttle service for French residents)

"Our collaboration with beti allows us to execute our inaugural commercial Robobus deployment in Europe, utilizing our proven track record in the Chinese, Singaporean, and Middle Eastern markets, and ultimately reinforcing our position as a global leader in L4 autonomous driving deployment and commercialization." said Jennifer Li, CFO and Head of International Business at WeRide.

Benjamin Beaudet, CEO of beti, explained that “beti provides the ‘hypervision’ solution where behind their screens, the ‘hypervisors’ can't drive the shuttle remotely, but they can react to alerts, stop the vehicle, monitor service, providing a second layer of safety for automated driving and ensuring continuous improvement of the system.”

“Following successful trials conducted over the past year by Renault Group and its partner WeRide, the beginnings of a passenger transport service using automated shuttles are now being set up in Valence (France). Renault Group continues to move forward in order to implement its strategy to propose, well before the end of this decade, a relevant, low-carbon, efficient offer of automated minibuses, to meet the growing needs of territories,” said Patrick Vergelas, Head of Autonomous Mobility Projects, Renault Group. 

Yann Arnaud, Director of Responses to Member Needs and Innovation of Macif, explains that "Macif, as initiator and pilot of the Movin'On Community of Interest on Automated Vehicles (CIVA), is particularly interested in this deployment, whose observation will feed its work and underpin its support for the development of a collective format for automated mobility."
![4.jpg](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/3_7dacce2f24.jpg)
 (Local citizens ride the WeRide Robobus)

The route covered by the automated shuttles is 3.3 km long, and serves the train station, the off-site long-term parking area, the business park's catering hub and about 150 companies, employing nearly 3,000 people on the 162-hectare site. Its deployment has been guided by three use cases:

-  Ensuring flexible internal mobility for people or goods between the TGV station and the TER station with companies, and also encouraging soft and/or alternative mobility by ensuring equally virtuous transport over the last few kilometers.

-   Offering a low-carbon service between the long-term parking lot and the Valence TGV station, where there is currently no alternative to walking.

-  Linking the park's companies and other private sites to the site's catering hub to facilitate the mobility of local employees and entrepreneurs.
![5.png](https://d2s675kp4ttxrq.cloudfront.net/uploads/4_b03c52bbc8.png)
(The operating area of WeRide Robobus in the Rovaltain business park)

The deployment of a High Service Level Automated Shuttle service at the Rovaltain site is a first in many respects:

-   This is WeRide’s first fully driverless commercial European deployment of Robobus, showcasing its global expansion.

-   The WeRide - beti - Renault Group alliance is offering the 1st high-level service automated mobility network to connect a railway station to the many players in the surrounding business park.

-   The technological choice of WeRide's level 4 automation enables speeds consistent with traffic regulations (up to 40km/h) and dynamic obstacle avoidance.

Open to the public, the initial learning phase will run from March 10 to April 19, operating Monday to Friday under real passenger transport conditions. It will demonstrate the relevance of the service, the safety of the technology and the efficiency of the operation to the European mobility sector. A second target operating phase starting in July will confirm the scale of the service.


**About WeRide**
WeRide is a global leader and a first mover in the autonomous driving industry, as well as the first publicly listed Robotaxi company. Empowered by the smart, versatile, cost-effective and highly adaptable WeRide One platform, WeRide provides autonomous driving products and services from L2 to L4, addressing a vast majority of transportation needs across a wide range of use cases on the open road, including in the mobility, logistics, and sanitation industries. WeRide earned a prestigious position among the top ten on Fortune Magazine’s “2023 Change the World” list and was named to Fortune Magazine’s 2024 “The Future 50” list.

**About beti**
beti is an operator of European Automated Mobility Networks for people and goods. Spin off from the family-owned SME autocars bertolami, a mobility operator for over 75 years, and Macif Innovation, which acquired a stake in the company in 2022, beti has been providing consulting, organization, operation and supervision services for automated mobility networks in territories on open roads in mixed traffic or on private sites since 2019. In 2024, the company established itself as France's leading automated mobility operator, with more than 10,000 kilometers covered with automated driving technologies such as Easymile and Navya.

For media inquiries, please contact:

WeRide PR 
pr@weride.ai

ICR Inc.
WeRidePR@icrinc.com


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