In the initial phase, the vehicles will operate with a safety driver on board, paving the way for the full-scale commercial rollout of driverless services in 2026, the Dubai government said.

Nasdaq-listed shares of China’s WeRide Inc. (WRD) traded over 3% higher on Monday at noon after Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER) and WeRide.

Under the agreement signed on Sunday, pilot operations of WeRide’s autonomous vehicles will commence later this year via the Uber app in Dubai.

In the initial phase, the vehicles will operate with a safety driver on board, paving the way for the full-scale commercial rollout of driverless services in 2026, according to the Dubai government.

Field preparations for the pilot phase are already underway, led by Uber and WeRide, with strategic support and supervision from RTA, it added.

Uber and WeRide first announced a partnership with Dubai’s RTA in April to bring autonomous vehicles to the country without providing a timeline for launch.

The launch of WeRide’s robotaxis in Dubai follows the successful commercial launch of WeRide AVs in Abu Dhabi on Uber in December 2024.

Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, stated that the new agreement supports the objectives of the Dubai Smart Self-Driving Transport Strategy, which aims to convert 25% of all mobility journeys in the emirate into autonomous trips across various transport modes by 2030.

Earlier in May, WeRide and Uber also announced plans to expand their autonomous vehicle partnership to 15 additional cities over the next five years, focusing on regions outside the U.S. and China, including Europe.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around WeRide stayed unchanged within the ‘bearish’ territory over the past 24 hours while message volume remained ‘low’.

WRD's Sentiment Meter and Message Volume as of 2:08 p.m. ET on June 16, 2025 | Source: Stocktwits


A Stocktwits user, however, expressed hopes that the stock would hit $6.05 this week.

WRD stock is down by 43% this year and by about 51% over the past 12 months.

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