WeRide Receives Autonomous Driving Permit in Saudi Arabia: Retail Sees Stock Hitting $20

A full-scale commercial WeRide robotaxi service is expected to launch by the end of the year in partnership with Uber in Saudi Arabia.

WeRide (WRD) announced on Monday that its robotaxi has been granted an autonomous driving permit in Saudi Arabia, expanding its number of such licenses to six countries.

Shares of WeRide traded over 7% higher in the pre-market session on Monday at the time of writing.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around WeRide trended in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume remained at ‘high’ levels.

A Stocktwits user expressed optimism that the stock would hit $20.

Another opined that the news serves as a hint to put all doubts to rest.

WeRide now holds autonomous driving permits in Saudi Arabia, China, the U.A.E., Singapore, France, and the U.S.

With the permit, it is authorized to operate an autonomous vehicle business and deploy robotaxis nationwide in Saudi Arabia. The company was granted the permit last week after its robotaxis completed the approval process, including rigorous testing, assessments, and technology validation. It entered the Saudi Arabian market in May earlier this year.

WeRide launched pilot operations of its robotaxis in Riyadh, in collaboration with ride-hailing partner Uber Technologies (UBER) and local partner Ai Driver, last week. The pilot covers King Khalid International Airport and several key locations throughout Riyadh.

A full-scale commercial robotaxi service is expected to launch by the end of the year in partnership with Uber.

WeRide is currently also testing and operating its Robobus in key locations, including King Fahad Medical City, Aramco residential communities, AlUla, and the Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh.

WeRide robotaxis are also undergoing fully driverless robotaxi testing in Abu Dhabi. It will soon extend its robotaxi service to Dubai.

WRD stock is down 27% this year and approximately 38% over the past 12 months.

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