Uber and WeRide to bring Spain's first robotaxi service to Madrid

Uber, autonomous-driving specialist WeRide and fleet operator AVOMO have announced plans to launch what they describe as Spain's first commercial robotaxi pilot, based in the Region of Madrid. The partnership represents a notable expansion of driverless ride-hailing into mainland Europe, a market that has so far moved more cautiously on autonomous vehicles than the United States, China or the Gulf states.

Announced on 2 June, the scheme is the companies' first joint move into the European market and will see passengers hail self-driving vehicles through the Uber app. The roll-out is being carried out in collaboration with Madrid's regional government, the Comunidad de Madrid, a sign that the partners regard close cooperation with local authorities as essential to introducing the technology onto public roads.

For Uber, the agreement is part of a wider strategy of partnering with specialist autonomous-driving firms rather than building the technology itself, allowing the company to add driverless options to its platform across multiple cities while sharing the cost and complexity of development. For WeRide, the deal offers a foothold in a major European capital and a showcase for technology that has already been deployed elsewhere.

Safety operators first

The service is due to begin later in 2026 with trained safety operators on board, before progressing towards a fully driverless commercial offering across core urban areas as performance milestones are met. The partners have pledged to add hundreds of robotaxis over time, suggesting an ambition that extends well beyond a small-scale demonstration.

The staged approach mirrors how autonomous services have been introduced in other markets. Early operation with a human supervisor allows the technology to be validated under real conditions, builds a record of safe performance for regulators, and gives the public time to grow comfortable with the idea of a car driving itself. Only once confidence is established do operators typically remove the safety operator and open the service to paying passengers without anyone behind the wheel.

AVOMO, part of the Moove Cars Group, already supports Uber's autonomous fleet operations in the US cities of Atlanta and Austin, and will manage the Madrid vehicles using WeRide's self-driving technology. Fleet management is a substantial undertaking in its own right, covering everything from charging and cleaning to maintenance, depot logistics and the remote monitoring of vehicles in service.

Building on Gulf deployments

The Madrid pilot builds on driverless services that the partners have already established in the Gulf, where the technology has been operating commercially. Those deployments have given WeRide and Uber experience of running autonomous fleets in dense urban environments and dealing with the practicalities of public operation, lessons the companies will be eager to apply in a European setting with its own traffic patterns, climate and regulatory expectations.

• Madrid will be the partnership's first European city
• The pilot is described as Spain's first commercial robotaxi service
• Rides will be booked via the Uber app
• Services will begin with safety operators on board
• Fully driverless services already run in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
• Riyadh is expected to follow

“Bringing autonomous rides to Madrid in close cooperation with regional authorities is an important step in expanding this technology responsibly across Europe.”

— A spokesperson for the partnership

Background

Autonomous ride-hailing has advanced rapidly in recent years, moving from experimental trials to commercial operation in a growing number of cities. The competitive landscape spans established technology firms, specialist start-ups and traditional carmakers, all seeking to demonstrate that self-driving vehicles can operate safely and profitably at scale. Europe has lagged some other regions, partly because of fragmented national regulation and a cautious public mood following high-profile incidents involving autonomous prototypes elsewhere.

Choosing Madrid reflects both the city's size and the willingness of its regional government to engage with the technology. A successful pilot in a major European capital could serve as a template for further expansion across the continent, while any setback would reverberate well beyond Spain given the scrutiny that surrounds driverless vehicles.

What happens next

The move marks the latest step in a broader agreement between Uber and WeRide to deploy autonomous vehicles across multiple cities over the coming years. In the near term, attention will focus on the launch of the supervised service later in 2026 and on how smoothly the vehicles integrate with Madrid's traffic. If the pilot meets its safety and performance targets, the partners are expected to scale up the fleet and move towards fully driverless operation, a milestone that would mark a significant moment for autonomous transport in Europe.