CaoCao tailgates WeRide into the UAE as China’s robotaxi rivals get the green light
WeRide wins UAE go-ahead for driverless taxis as CaoCao joins the race in the Middle East
Chinese autonomous-driving firms are accelerating their expansion into the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with WeRide entering a new operational phase and Geely-backed CaoCao making its debut in the Middle Eastern market.
WeRide on Monday announced that it had received formal approval from the UAE authorities to launch a fully driverless robotaxi service – without a safety operator on board – which the company described as a significant milestone.
“This is the first city-level commercial licence for Level 4 autonomous driving outside the United States,” WeRide said in a statement. In 2023, US self-driving technology firm Waymo received approval to operate uncrewed vehicles in San Francisco.
Level 4 autonomy – the second-highest under the six-tier classification set by SAE International, the global engineering body that develops vehicle and mobility standards – enables vehicles to operate without human intervention in most conditions.
The approval followed what WeRide described as “stringent safety and regulatory approval procedures” as tests without a safety operator began in the second quarter of this year.
The Guangzhou-based company, however, began testing in Abu Dhabi as early as 2021 in partnership with TXAI, the region’s robotaxi-hailing platform, and has worked with Uber since December, 2024, to extend its reach.