WeRide Launches Robotaxi Service in Villages in the City in Guangzhou

Guangzhou-based L4 autonomous driving company WeRide on Sept. 10 launched autonomous driving services in villages in the city in Guangzhou, which is currently in the road test stage.

As China’s first publicly accessible Robotaxi service, WeRide Robotaxi has run auto-driving tests for more than 900 days, accumulating 2.8 million kilometers of mileage and serving nearly 90,000 passengers.

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WeRide’s Robotaxi service opened to the public in Huangpu District and Guangzhou Development District in Guangzhou for more than 200 days with no accidents, covering 144.65 square kilometers and more than 200 pick-up and drop-off spots, running weekly from 8:00 am to 22:00 pm.

The launch of services in villages in Guangzhou built another pillar for WeRide.

Driving in Chinese “villages in the city”, which represent underdeveloped areas in the cities, is a tough task due to the building density exceeding 70%, road width within 4 meters and complex traffic filled with street vendors, motorcycles and passengers.

WeRide incorporates its auto-driving algorithm WeRide ONE in the Robotaxi which gives priority to pedestrians and passing vehicles.

With the help of a sensor kit developed by WeRide, the Robotaxi is able to detect all roads and simultaneous traffic information within a range of up to 250 meters and 360-degree coverage of nearby obstacles.

Users can hail WeRide Robotaxi both on the WeRide Go App and on Amap, Alibaba’s mobility aggregator service platform.

Also on Sept. 10, Baidu launched its Apollo Go Robotaxi service in Beijing with nearly 100 pick-up and drop-off stations in Yizhuang, Haidian and Shunyi districts. Both Baidu Apollo Go and WeRide Robotaxi are L4 level.