In November 2019, the released China's first fully open Robotaxi operation service in Guangzhou.
China's driverless car startup WeRide announced the strategic investment received from Bosch, one of the leading automotive suppliers on May 25. The two parties will jointly develop the smart driving solution and accelerate the landing of high-level autonomous driving in China.
Bosch and WeRide will work together to develop data-driven software to serve OEMs in China; they will also move SAE Level 2 - 3 autonomous driving (AD) towards mass production and popularizing experiences covering more scenarios including urban roads, highways and overpasses.
The Guangzhou-based company was founded in 2017. It has surpassed 11 million kilometers of self-driving miles on the open road through different vehicles such as Robotaxi, minibus, freight vehicles and sanitation vehicles, per WeRide.
Li Yin, the president of Bosch Cross-Domain Computing Solutions, China, commented that the advanced autonomous driving is becoming the next blue ocean market as smart driving technologies penetrates.
Bosh has grasped deep-rooted R&D capability and rich expertise in volume production after serving the Chinese market for years. WeRide shows its outstanding strength in autonomous driving technology R&D, product innovation and operation services.
"This collaboration is set to accelerate the mass production of advanced smart driving solutions in China, and deliver a safer, more comfortable and more intelligent driving experience in China," added Li.
"WeRide is committed to developing safe, advanced and commercially viable autonomous driving solutions; we hope to empower the industry's ecosystems with L4 technology," said Tony Han, founder and CEO of WeRide.
"The partnership with Bosch will further promote the landing and popularization of advanced intelligent driving technologies in China, and we will jointly lead the industry in creating high-level smart driving products."