Chinese self-driving car maker WeRide has received permission to test its driverless cars with passengers in California.
The move comes as WeRide begins the process of going public on the U.S. stock market at a valuation of about $5 billion, and coincides with reports that the Commerce Department is considering banning Chinese-made connected cars, including self-driving ones, due to national security concerns.
As of August 2, WeRide has been approved for two permits by the California Public Utilities Commission: a piloted permit and an unmanned permit. Both permit WeRide to test its vehicles on public roads with passengers on board. The former has a human safety driver in the driver's seat, while the latter operates without a driver. The permits do not yet allow WeRide to charge passengers for rides, and the service is not available to the public.
WeRide did not respond to requests for further details, including whether it has begun transporting passengers in its self-driving vehicles. A CPUC spokesperson told TechCrunch that WeRide is authorized to test in San Jose and nearby areas, and that the company currently has 12 operational vehicles on its fleet list.
WeRide has received permission from the California Department of Transportation to begin testing self-driving vehicles without passengers on public roads in San Jose in 2021.
The company has been slow to expand in California: According to DMV data, WeRide's vehicles drove just 42,391 autonomous miles in the state in 2023. By comparison, Waymo drove more than 9 million autonomous miles.
WeRide has revealed little about its plans to go commercial in California. Its CPUC permit states WeRide is “limited to use of vehicles capable of carrying fewer than 16 passengers, including the driver.” This provision is not included in Waymo, Cruise, or Zoox's permits, but it could apply to WeRide's different vehicle types. In addition to robotaxis, WeRide also makes robobuses that can carry up to 10 passengers.
WeRide claims to be the world's first self-driving company, operating and testing in 30 cities across seven countries. The startup has received permits for autonomous driving on public roads in four countries: China, Singapore, the UAE, and the US. Besides robo-taxis and robo-buses, WeRide is also working on robo-vans (for product delivery), robotic road sweepers, and ADAS for OEMs.