Big Tech Encircles Robotaxis: Can WERIDE Defend Its "First-Mover Advantage"

Since Robotaxi entered its first year of large-scale operation in 2025, the capital markets' scrutiny of autonomous driving companies has shifted from pure "technological competition" to the actual results of "commercialization."

As one of the leading players in China's Robotaxi sector, WERIDE was the first to release its performance report.

In 2025, WERIDE's revenue was 690 million yuan, a significant year-on-year increase of 90%. Of this, fourth-quarter revenue was 314 million yuan, up 123% year-on-year; the net loss for the same period was 1.66 billion yuan, a reduction of over 30% year-on-year.

The core driver of this strong performance growth comes from the accelerated volume expansion of the Robotaxi business.

In 2025, WERIDE's Robotaxi-related product and service revenue reached 148 million yuan, a substantial year-on-year increase of 209.6%.

As of the end of 2025, WERIDE's global Robotaxi fleet reached 1,125 vehicles, a new all-time high.

But as the Robotaxi business model gradually proves viable, the sector is becoming increasingly crowded.

Previously, the main participants in China's Robotaxi sector were concentrated among three autonomous driving tech companies: Apollo Go, Pony.ai, and WERIDE. But since 2025, ride-hailing platforms represented by Didi, Cao Cao Mobility, Hello, and Gaode, as well as automakers represented by XPeng, have all joined the fray, raising market concerns about WERIDE's future competitive pressure.

In response, WERIDE's management stated during a conference call on the evening of March 23: "From L2 to L4 level autonomous driving taxi services, it is necessary to obtain safe operation qualifications and pass continuous capability verification. This includes hardware maturity, system architecture, and approval from regulatory bodies. These are all hurdles that competitors must overcome one by one. In this regard, we have accumulated rich experience and possess significant advantages in L4 level autonomous driving taxi services. We welcome competitors to join this highly competitive market."

According to its plans, WERIDE expects its global Robotaxi scale to expand to 2,600 vehicles by the end of 2026, with a long-term vision of deploying tens of thousands globally before 2030.

In this process, overseas markets have become a key engine supporting WERIDE's plans.

Currently, WERIDE is accelerating its global penetration through deep cooperation with Uber. According to management disclosures during the conference call, the cooperation fleet size on the platform is expected to reach thousands of vehicles by 2027.

Currently, WERIDE's operations in overseas markets are primarily driven by its cooperation with Uber.

According to disclosures from WERIDE's management conference call, regarding cooperation with Uber, the scale of collaborative vehicles is expected to reach thousands by 2027.

Furthermore, regarding the highly watched Middle Eastern market, management stated that all business aspects are progressing steadily,

"We have obtained Abu Dhabi's city-level license and will launch operations in Dubai this year. In these two important Middle Eastern cities, we have obtained permits, which is a good starting point," WERIDE pointed out. "From a regulatory perspective, a strong 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 size. As it stands, no material shortages are affecting our business progress, and everything is within our control."

The high revenue growth and substantial narrowing of losses have provided WERIDE with more "ammunition" in the capital-intensive and long-cycle autonomous driving sector.

But it is undeniable that competition in the domestic market is intensifying with the successive entry of ride-hailing giants and new automotive forces.

The second half of autonomous driving, the real commercialization race has just begun.