Uber to add WeRide's self-driving cars to Abu Dhabi fleet this year

Vehicles will be initially available on Saadiyat and Yas Islands, with plans to expand further

WeRide's self-driving cars have already been operating between Saadiyat Island and Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies will begin using self-driving cars from China's WeRide in its Abu Dhabi fleet later this year, expanding the emirate's autonomous public transport options and boosting its sustainability push.

The rides will be initially available on Saadiyat Island and Yas Island, with plans to expand further. The companies did not confirm if the expansion would be within Abu Dhabi or also further across the UAE.

The self-driving vehicles will deliver “much needed, affordable, sustainable and safe mobility solutions to a global audience”, said Tony Han, founder and chief executive of WeRide.

The start date of operations will be announced closer to launch and the number of autonomous cars to be deployed in Abu Dhabi has not been disclosed.

Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, told The National in June, that he expected the option of autonomous vehicles to be available in the UAE “soon”, expressing optimism in its self-driving strategy in the Middle East “over the next five to 10 years”.

The UAE aims to become a leader in smart mobility systems as part of its efforts to boost both sustainability and adopt the latest technology.

Abu Dhabi already has its own fleet of driverless taxis on Yas Island run by TXAI, the UAE's first driverless taxi service. During 2022's Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, TXAI operated a driverless bus service to carry fans.

Meanwhile, WeRide was granted the first preliminary national licence for self-driving cars by the UAE Cabinet in July 2023.

At the time, WeRide said it was to begin testing all types of autonomous vehicles on UAE roads, including robotaxis, robobuses, robovans and robosweepers. Later that month, it unveiled plans to rapidly expand its presence in the country, particularly by putting hundreds of vehicles on the roads by 2025.

Guangzhou-based WeRide manufactures vehicles with level-4 autonomy – one step below full autonomy, which is when a car is entirely capable of driving itself without the intervention of a human.

In October last year, Abu Dhabi also unveiled the Smart and Autonomous Vehicles Industry (Savi) cluster at clean energy hub Masdar City, aimed at establishing the emirate as a major centre for the development of high-tech vehicles.

It is also aimed at helping the emirate diversify its economy and create thousands of jobs: the multi-modal hub is expected to contribute between Dh90 billion and Dh120 billion ($24.5 billion and $32.7 billion) to the UAE's economy and generate up to 50,000 jobs, officials said at the time.

Meanwhile, Dubai also began supervised testing of driverless vehicles on its public roads in October last year after US self-driving tech company Cruise, which is backed by General Motors and Honda Motor, was issued with a trial permit.

San Francisco-based Uber said last month it will include Cruise robotaxis in its US fleet in 2025. The company has been offering driverless cars in Phoenix, Arizona, on its platform since October last year through an agreement with Alphabet's Waymo.

Uber will continue to work with other self-driving technology companies, “to help bring the benefits of autonomous technology to cities around the world”, Mr Khosrowshahi said in Wednesday's statement.

The value of the global autonomous vehicle market is projected to hit more than $13.6 trillion by 2030, from an estimated $1.92 trillion in 2023, growing at a compound annual rate of 32.3 per cent, data from Fortune Business Insights shows.