WeRide, Uber Technologies and AVOMO, the autonomous vehicle division of the Moove Cars Group, in collaboration with the Regional Government of Madrid, have announced that they have received Spain’s first national permit for Level 4 autonomous passenger vehicles to operate on public roads, from Spain’s Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) within the ES-AV framework.
As one of Europe’s largest urban mobility markets, Spain serves millions of residents and visitors each year. The Community of Madrid, with its strong commuting demand and mature ride-hailing ecosystem, provides an ideal foundation for autonomous mobility services. This launch marks the beginning of WeRide and Uber’s joint entry into the Spanish market and represents the fourth of the 15 cities under the WeRide-Uber strategic partnership, with another 11 cities to come by 2030. Under this global partnership, WeRide and Uber plan to deploy tens of thousands of autonomous vehicles on public roads to bring safe and reliable autonomous mobility to riders around the world.
Commercial operations in Spain are expected to begin by the end of 2026 following the completion of deployment preparations and the achievement of the necessary operational and regulatory milestones. This deployment further demonstrates WeRide’s asset-light operating strategy. By combining WeRide’s autonomous driving technology, Uber’s established mobility platform and AVOMO’s fleet operations expertise, the partnership creates a scalable framework for autonomous ride-hailing deployment.
The permit allows WeRide, Uber and AVOMO to begin deployment preparation activities such as mapping, route validation and operational readiness testing, establishing the foundation for future commercial autonomous passenger transportation services under the DGT ES-AV framework. The initial phase will deploy 20 vehicles equipped with WeRide’s latest autonomous driving technology, operating under the supervision of an in-car vehicle specialist, across various high-demand areas within the Greater Madrid region. As the first national approval for WeRide’s GXR autonomous vehicle in the EU, the permit creates a regulatory benchmark for future vehicle certification and commercialization across the region.
“Receiving this permit is a significant achievement for WeRide as it marks our ninth autonomous driving permit worldwide and a testament to our global leadership in commercializing autonomous vehicle services,” said Jennifer Li, CFO and head of international at WeRide. “The Madrid region is a key gateway for our European expansion, and together with partners like Uber and AVOMO, we are one step closer to bringing autonomous mobility to Spain before the end of 2026.”
“This permit marks an important milestone in bringing autonomous mobility from planning into real-world deployment,” said Sarfraz Maredia, global head of autonomous mobility and delivery at Uber. “The Madrid region is quickly establishing itself as one of Europe’s most forward-looking environments for autonomous mobility, and we’re excited to be working alongside our partners to help make that vision a reality.”
“Every successful autonomous vehicle deployment begins long before the first commercial ride. Our experience managing autonomous fleets in the United States has shown that careful preparation, rigorous operational processes and safety-first execution are the foundation for scaling these services,” said Manuel Puga, CEO of Moove Cars Group.
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