WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER) and autonomous driving technology company WeRide Inc. (WRD) on Wednesday said they plan to launch Robotaxi services in the Greater Zurich region later this year, marking their second joint deployment in Europe after recently announcing a service in Madrid.
WeRide said its Robotaxi received a driverless permit from Switzerland's Federal Roads Office in November 2025, allowing autonomous operations on public roads in Zurich's Furttal region.
The service will be available through the Uber app, subject to regulatory approval, and will be launched in collaboration with Switzerland's Federal Roads Office (FEDRO). Local mobility and logistics operator Rydera will manage fleet operations.
The companies said the Robotaxi fleet will be expanded gradually, with plans to transition to fully driverless operations in core urban areas.
The Zurich launch builds on the partners' existing Robotaxi operations in the Middle East, including fully driverless services in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and public operations in Riyadh.
With the Zurich launch, WeRide and Uber will operate Robotaxi services in five of the 15 cities covered under their existing partnership agreement.
'Europe is a priority region for WeRide, and announcing two European markets in two weeks reflects the speed and efficiency of our expansion strategy. Zurich's status as a global business centre and premium mobility market makes it an attractive city for Robotaxi commercialization as we scale autonomous mobility with Uber worldwide,' said Jennifer Li, CFO and Head of International at WeRide.
'Switzerland is a key market for autonomous mobility, combining forward-thinking regulation with a demand for high-quality ride-hailing solutions. Our partnership with WeRide continues to gain momentum across Europe, and we are excited to bring this next generation of autonomous rides to Zurich,' added Sarfraz Maredia, Global Head of Autonomous Mobility & Delivery at Uber.
WeRide shares fell 2.78% to close at $6.30 on Tuesday, while Uber shares gained 0.55% to end the session at $73.25.
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