Spain Issues First Permit for Level 4 Self-Driving Cars to WeRide and Uber
WeRide and Uber have received Spain’s first national permit for Level 4 autonomous passenger vehicles, with fleet operator AVOMO. It allows testing and mapping with 20 supervised cars in the Madrid region. The companies expect commercial rides by the end of 2026.
September 10, 2026 – 6:58 pm
WeRide’s GXR autonomous vehicle in Madrid. (Credit: WeRide)
WeRide, Uber, and AVOMO have received Spain’s first national permit for Level 4 autonomous passenger vehicles on public roads, the three companies announced on Thursday. Spain’s Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) issued it under its ES-AV framework for autonomous vehicles. (Reuters) also reported the permit.
AVOMO is the autonomous vehicle division of the Moove Cars Group. The companies worked with the Regional Government of Madrid.
What the Permit Allows
The permit covers testing of WeRide’s GXR autonomous vehicles in Spain. It lets the companies begin mapping, route validation, and operational readiness testing in the Madrid region.
The first phase will use 20 vehicles. Each will carry an in-car vehicle specialist to supervise it. The cars will run in high-demand areas of Greater Madrid.
Commercial operations are expected to begin by the end of 2026, according to the announcement. That depends on the companies completing their deployment preparations and reaching the required operational and regulatory milestones.
The companies stated it is the first national approval in the EU for WeRide’s GXR vehicle. It is WeRide’s ninth autonomous driving permit worldwide, said Jennifer Li, the company’s chief financial officer and head of international.
Madrid in the WeRide and Uber Plan
Madrid will be the first planned autonomous vehicle deployment in Europe for Uber and WeRide. TNW reported in June that the two companies were taking their robotaxi partnership to Madrid.
It is the fourth of 15 cities under their strategic partnership, with 11 more planned by 2030. Under that partnership, the companies plan to put tens of thousands of autonomous vehicles on public roads.
WeRide provides the driving technology, Uber the ride-hailing platform, and AVOMO the fleet operations. AVOMO runs autonomous fleets in Austin and Atlanta, with around 400 vehicles and more than 200 specialists. Moove, the group AVOMO belongs to, raised $250m at a $2.1bn valuation in August to run robotaxi fleets.
What the Companies Said
“The Madrid region is a key gateway for our European expansion,” Li said.
Uber’s global head of autonomous mobility and delivery, Sarfraz Maredia, stated, “This permit marks an important milestone in bringing autonomous mobility from planning into real-world deployment.”
Manuel Puga, chief executive of Moove Cars Group, remarked, “Every successful autonomous vehicle deployment begins long before the first commercial ride.”
Robotaxis Elsewhere in Europe
WeRide said its business now spans more than 60 cities in 13 countries. In August, it entered Denmark, its first Nordic market, with a 2027 robotaxi plan.
Europe’s first commercial robotaxi service went live in Zagreb in April, TNW reported. That month, the Netherlands became the first European country to approve Tesla’s FSD Supervised.
Story by Darius Popa
(Technology enthusiast and intern at The Next Web, contributing to research-backed content and investigating new technologies and global events)