Chinese autonomous driving startup WeRide named "AutoTech Startup of the Year" in 2021 AutoTech Breakthrough Awards Program

The mission of the annual AutoTech Breakthrough Awards program is to conduct the industry's most comprehensive analysis and evaluation of automotive and transportation technology categories, including Connected Car, Electric Vehicles, Engine Tech, Automotive Cyber Security, Sensor Technology, Traffic Tech and many more. This year's program attracted more than 1,400 nominations from over 15 different countries throughout the world.

Bryan Vaughn, Managing Director, AutoTech Breakthrough Awards: "By 2030, some estimates have Autonomous Vehicles as a two trillion dollars market worldwide. In the very near future, driverless vehicles will be able to free up labor and provide uninterrupted logistics services. R&D and operation centers that focus on self-driving tech are leading the charge in this space. WeRide's dedication to ensuring self-driving vehicles can navigate in urban cities and their goal of accomplishing driverless technology, makes them our choice for 'AutoTech Startup of the Year'."

WeRide is a global company that develops Level 4 autonomous driving technologies, bringing smart cities with new products, new business model and new experience. It is the first startup in the world that holds driverless test permits in both China and the US. The company completed its Series C fundraising in May 2021 and valued at 3.3 billion US dollars. 

Tony Han, founder and CEO, WeRide: "It's our honor to receive the recognition from AutoTech Breakthrough. Autonomous driving technology advancement is transforming how people live and how the cities are built. The remarkable achievements in this industry have resulted in the further acceleration of the technology itself and the development of ecosystem players like WeRide. WeRide will continue our dedications in autonomous driving R&D and commercialization, with the goal of providing large-scale autonomous driving services to the public in the near future."

WeRide offers an all-rounded product mix of Robotaxi, Mini Robobus and Robovan to provide multiple services including online ride-hailing, on-demand transport and urban logistics.

In November 2019, WeRide launched the world's first publicly available Robotaxi service, in Guangzhou, China, which covered an area of 144 square kilometers. A total of 147,128 trips were completed with more than 60,000 passengers during the first year of WeRide Robotaxi services. Since its launch, WeRide has gained leading insights and expertise in the operations and management of a self-driving mobility service in the real-world environment.

In June 2021, WeRide made fully driverless deliveries to the locked down areas of Guangzhou, China due to a resurgence of Covid-19. WeRide used fully driverless Mini Robobuses and Robotaxis to deliver daily necessities and urgent supplies including medicine, medical supplies, baby formula, diapers and more. For 20 consecutive days, WeRide driverless vehicles completed more than 500 trips, and delivered over 20,000 parcels, weighing over 100 tons.

In September 2021, WeRide launched another innovative self-driving product WeRide Robovan, the very first L4 self-driving cargo van in China. The company works with Jiangling Motors (JMC), a major Chinese automobile manufacturer, and ZTO Express, a leading express delivery company in China, in a strategic cooperation, promoting mass production and the commercialization of WeRide Robovan.

With a fleet of over 300 self-driving vehicles being deployed in several cities in both China and U.S., WeRide's autonomous mileage has reached over 7,000,000 kilometers. The company recently released its latest "WeRide Sensor Suite 4.0," the industry's first small-sized, lightweight sensor suite providing accurate and stable self-driving detection capabilities for different passenger vehicle models.

Winners for 2021 AutoTech Breakthrough Awards from other categories include Mercedes-Benz, Ford, TuSimple and Aurora Labs.

www.weride.ai