WeRide's Robotaxi Receives Driverless Permit in Switzerland

WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD, HKEX: 0800.HK), a global leader in autonomous driving technology, today announced that its Robotaxi has received a driverless permit from Switzerland’s Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), authorizing it to operate autonomously on public roads in the Furttal region. This is the first driverless Robotaxi permit (for passengers) issued in Switzerland.

With this approval, WeRide becomes the world's only company with vehicles holding autonomous driving permits in eight countries – Switzerland, China, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, France, Belgium, and the United States – marking a major milestone in its global expansion.

Under this permit, WeRide Robotaxis may conduct fully driverless commercial operations as part of the “iamo” (Intelligent Automated Mobility) pilot once testing is complete. Led by the Swiss Transit Lab (STL) in collaboration with the Cantons of Zurich and Aargau and Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), “iamo” aims to explore how autonomous vehicles (AVs) could be integrated into public transport systems to improve local mobility, strengthen last-mile connectivity, and promote more efficient, sustainable transport. The vehicles will serve a 110-kilometer operating area with around 460 stops at speeds of up to 80 km/h.

WeRide and its partners have begun AV testing with an on-board safety driver, in partnership with a local driving school, after completing extensive field preparations. Testing is underway across multiple locations in Furttal, including Boppelsen, Otelfingen, Buchs, Dänikon, Würenlos, Killwangen, Hüttikon, Dällikon, and Regensdorf. During this phase, the Robotaxis will complete adaptive driving sessions under varying traffic and weather conditions to ensure full compliance with Swiss road regulations.

Upon successful testing in cooperation with FEDRO, WeRide will begin fully driverless testing, with vehicles remotely monitored from a central support center operated by Eurobus, Switzerland's largest private bus company.

After achieving the necessary requirements, including mileage benchmarks, WeRide expects to launch fully driverless public passenger service in the first half of 2026, and subsequently expand the fleet to include Robobuses – establishing Switzerland's first mixed AV fleet of Robotaxis and Robobuses.

This development builds on WeRide’s growing presence in Switzerland. Since June 2025, Zurich Airport employees have been commuting between the airport head (Gate 101) and maintenance yard (Gate 103) using WeRide’s Robobus shuttle service. In October 2025, WeRide and Zurich Airport began training personnel for both rear-seat and remote Robobus cockpit operations, in preparation for fully driverless operations in the near future.

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