Spain's Directorate-General for Traffic has granted WeRide, Uber, and autonomous mobility operator Avomo permission to operate WeRide's GXR autonomous vehicles on public roads, marking Spain's first national permit for Level 4 autonomous passenger vehicles1,2,3.
The companies plan to initially deploy 20 vehicles in the Greater Madrid area. Uber said commercial operations are expected to begin by the end of 2026. The permit is also the first approval for WeRide's GXR in the European Union.
Uber's European AV footprint
Madrid represents the fourth of 15 cities planned under the Uber-WeRide partnership, which aims to put tens of thousands of autonomous vehicles on public roads by 2030. Uber has also launched autonomous rides in Zagreb with Pony.ai and Verne, making Zagreb the first European city where riders could book an autonomous vehicle directly through Uber's app.
Beyond Europe, Uber has operations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh. The company has been expanding into autonomous driving through partnerships and investments in companies including Waymo, WeRide, and LUCID, and is expected to commit more than $10 billion across AV investments and infrastructure over the coming years.
The Spain approval lands days after Lyft began matching riders in Nashville with driverless Waymo vehicles inside its app, making Nashville the first U.S. city where Waymo robotaxis are bookable through both the Waymo app and a competing ride-hailing platform[2].
Competitive pressure from Tesla
The permit arrives as Tesla launched its Cybercab in Austin, a two-seat vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals designed specifically for autonomous ride-hailing. ANALYSIS The near-simultaneous developments in Madrid and Austin put Uber's partnership-driven AV strategy and Tesla's vertically integrated approach on parallel timelines in distinct markets.
Arete downgraded Uber to Neutral from Buy with a $74 price target, saying Uber's stock is not yet priced for autonomous vehicle disruption and that overhang from autonomous vehicles is expected to intensify. Arete added that Uber's own supply of autonomous vehicles is not scaling quickly enough. Uber shares have declined more than 14% year to date, while WeRide shares have slumped more than 38% over the same period.