China’s WeRide to launch robotaxis on GAC’s Ontime ride-hailing app

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – WeRide, a China-based autonomous driving startup, said on Thursday it plans to make its robotaxis available for booking by the public on Guangzhou Automobile Group’s Ontime ride-hailing app by next year.

Backed by Nissan Motor, WeRide said in a statement it plans to offer test rides for the public at the Guangzhou Auto Show, which begins in the southern Chinese city on Friday. It added that its robotaxi has been integrated into the Ontime platform and they were conducting testing.

Automakers and technology firms are investing billions of dollars in autonomous driving, aiming to take an early lead in what many consider the future of mobility.

On Tuesday, Chinese autonomous vehicle startup AutoX, which is backed by Alibaba Group said it had expanded its robotaxi zone in China’s southern city of Shenzhen to become the country’s largest fully driverless robotaxi zone, at 65 square miles (168 square km).

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)