Big companies besiege Robotaxi—can WeRide maintain its "first-mover advantage"?

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Since the first year of large-scale Robotaxi operations in 2025, the capital market's evaluation criteria for autonomous driving companies have shifted from pure “technology competition” to the actual results of “commercial monetization”.

As one of the leading players in China’s Robotaxi track, WeRide was the first to reveal its performance report.

In 2025, WeRide’s revenue reached 690 million yuan, a substantial increase of 90% year-on-year. Among this, fourth quarter revenue was 314 million yuan, up 123% year-on-year; net loss for the same period was 1.66 billion yuan, narrowed by over 30% year-on-year.

The core driving force behind the robust growth in performance comes from the accelerated expansion of the Robotaxi business.

In 2025, WeRide’s revenue from Robotaxi-related products and services reached 148 million yuan, a significant increase of 209.6% year-on-year.

By the end of 2025, WeRide’s global Robotaxi fleet reached 1,125 vehicles, setting a historic high.

However, as the Robotaxi business model gradually proves itself, the track has become increasingly crowded.

Previously, domestic participation in the Robotaxi sector mainly concentrated on three autonomous driving companies: Baidu’s Apollo Go, Pony.ai, and WeRide. But since 2025, ride-hailing platforms such as DiDi, CaoCao Mobility, Hello, and AutoNavi, as well as automakers such as XPeng, have entered the fray, prompting concerns in the market regarding WeRide’s future competitive pressure.

In response, WeRide’s management said on a conference call on March 23rd: "From L2 to L4 level autonomous taxi businesses, it is necessary to obtain safety operation qualifications and undergo continuous capability verification. This includes hardware maturity, system architecture, and approvals from regulatory agencies. All of these hurdles must be overcome one by one by competitors. In this regard, we have accumulated rich experience and hold a significant advantage in L4 level autonomous taxi operations. We welcome competitors to join this fiercely competitive market.”

According to plans, WeRide expects its global Robotaxi fleet to expand to 2,600 vehicles by the end of 2026, aiming for the long-term goal of deploying tens of thousands of vehicles globally before 2030.

In this process, the overseas market has become a key engine supporting WeRide’s plans.

Currently, WeRide is accelerating global penetration through deep cooperation with Uber. According to management on the conference call, it is expected that by 2027, the cooperative fleet on the platform will reach over a thousand vehicles.

At present, WeRide is mainly advancing Robotaxi operations overseas through its partnership with Uber.

According to WeRide’s management on the conference call, the cooperation with Uber is expected to reach a fleet of over a thousand vehicles by 2027.

In addition, regarding the highly anticipated Middle Eastern market, management stated that all business lines are progressing steadily,

“We have already obtained city-level licenses in Abu Dhabi, and this year we will start operations in Dubai. We have acquired permits in these two important Middle Eastern cities, which is a good starting point,” said WeRide. “From a regulatory perspective, a good safety record and relationships with partners will also facilitate faster expansion. Currently, we are closely monitoring business development and expansion, working closely with local and overseas teams to continuously expand the fleet. For now, there are no material shortages affecting our business advancement, and everything remains under our control.”

The rapid revenue growth and substantial narrowing of losses have reserved more ‘resources’ for WeRide in the capital-intensive, long-cycle autonomous driving industry.

But it is undeniable that, as ride-hailing giants and new automakers continue to join the fray, domestic competition is intensifying further.

The second half of autonomous driving is just beginning the real commercial ranking competition.

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