The robotaxi race is set to become a lot more congested after Chinese self-driving technology firm WeRide said it was ready to put its foot down on global expansion with “hundreds of thousands” of new vehicles on the road.
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Ramping up the competition against the likes of Tesla (TSLA), Alphabet (GOOGL)-owned Waymo, and XPeng (XPEV), WeRide said it planned to rev up the commercialization of autonomous taxis and expand into new markets including the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Japan.
Powering the new ambition is the $307 million WeRide recently raised in a Hong Kong share sale. The cash will also go on research and development.
Its founder and CEO Tony Han said it would now deploy 10,000 robotaxis around the world over the next few years. He told the South China Morning Post that the aim is to grow that fleet to “hundreds of thousands” to create a ubiquitously available global taxi service.
“WeRide, as the first mover and industrial leader in the self-driving industry, will expand to the global market,” he said.
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As part of the plan, WeRide is looking to develop new premium-level autonomous cars to provide taxi services to wealthy customers.
“But we definitely will focus on supplying very efficient or economically efficient services to the working class or normal people,” he added.
WeRide operates 700 driverless taxis around the world at present, and it also supplies its technology to car assemblers such as GAC Motor and Chery Automobile.
In China, it operates driverless vehicles in designated areas in several cities and its home nation will likely remain a key focus for the group given huge growth forecasts there.
As many as 300,000 driverless taxis could be operating in mainland China’s four top-tier cities by 2030, supported by rapid advances in artificial intelligence chips and the fiercely competitive EV sector, according to UBS.
That number could climb to 4 million by the late 2030s as more passengers embrace autonomous transport.
Rival XPeng announced earlier this week a robotaxi push, teaming up with fellow Chinese tech titan Alibaba’s (BABA) digital mapping arm Amap to launch a robotaxi service. The plan is to roll out three self-developed robotaxi models and start operations in 2026.
Tesla is also set to debut its Cybercab robotaxi at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) this week. It is a key part of its growing ecosystem of services.
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