WeRide, a leading autonomous driving technology company, has secured approval from the French government to operate Level 4 driverless vehicles on public roads. Following successful deployments in China, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and the United States, this milestone marks WeRide’s fifth country to obtain unmanned operation permits. The company achieved this through a strategic partnership with Beti, a French autonomous mobility operator.
Governed by the 2019 PACTE law, the French authorization process involves a rigorous multi-agency review led by the Directorate General for Energy and Climate (DGEC). WeRide and Beti set a new record for the fastest approval in France, completing the evaluation of technical documentation, safety protocols, and operational plans in three months. This permit allows WeRide’s autonomous minibus to operate on public roads at speeds up to 40 km/h, the highest speed limit granted for autonomous vehicles in France to date.
Before this achievement, WeRide launched Europe’s first commercial autonomous minibus service in Valence, France, collaborating with Beti, Renault Group, and insurance provider Macif. The project aims to implement fully driverless operations by July 2025 and establish an advanced hypervision system for the remote monitoring of multiple vehicles.
WeRide’s global footprint now spans 30 cities across 10 countries, including France, Spain, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, and the UAE, where it operates autonomous Robotaxi, Robobus, and Robosweeper services.
In parallel development, WeRide and Renault have initiated Level 4 autonomous robot bus testing in central Barcelona, Spain. Building on their successful pilot during the 2024 Roland Garros tennis tournament, the companies are accelerating their efforts to penetrate the European public transportation market.
