Chinese autonomous driving company WeRide and global ride-hailing platform Uber have secured Spain’s first national permit for Level 4 autonomous passenger vehicles as they prepare to launch a robotaxi service in Madrid.
Issued by Spain’s Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) under the country’s ES-AV framework, the permit allows WeRide, Uber and fleet operator Avomo to begin mapping, route validation and operational readiness work across designated areas of Greater Madrid.
The initial deployment will comprise 20 WeRide GXR vehicles supervised by an in-car vehicle specialist. Commercial operations are expected by the end of 2026, subject to further operational and regulatory requirements.
The permit marks WeRide’s first national approval for its GXR autonomous vehicle in the EU, giving the company a regulatory reference point as it seeks to expand across Europe.
The timing puts Madrid on a different track from London, where Uber has already begun offering supervised autonomous rides with British self-driving developer Wayve. Alphabet-owned Waymo is also testing autonomous vehicles with safety drivers, while Baidu and Lyft began testing Apollo Go vehicles in July.
Frank McCleary, mobility expert and Partner at Arthur D. Little, told Zag Daily the two cities could test different parts of the robotaxi business.
“Ultimately, they serve different purposes,” he said. “London validates technical capability while Madrid helps validate the commercial operating model.”
London’s dense traffic and difficult road layouts make it a demanding environment for autonomous driving systems, while Madrid’s less complex operating environment and regulatory push could allow companies to reach commercial deployment sooner, McCleary said. The distinction could make Madrid an earlier test of demand, fleet operations and the economics of running an autonomous service.
McCleary added that the permit gives Madrid “early momentum”, but long-term leadership will depend on market economics, consumer adoption, infrastructure, operational performance and the ability to expand into other cities.
WeRide and Uber plan to deploy autonomous rides in 15 cities globally by 2030, with Madrid the partnership’s first European deployment. Uber’s approach is becoming increasingly multi-partner as those deployments spread.
The company is working with Wayve in London, Pony.ai in Zagreb and WeRide in Madrid, alongside a wider network of autonomous vehicle developers.
McCleary said the strategy allows Uber to match different autonomous driving companies with local regulatory, geopolitical and market conditions. It also keeps Uber in control of the customer relationship and demand flowing through its platform while autonomous and human-driven vehicles operate alongside each other.
