Madrid is set to become the first Spanish city with a paid robotaxi service before the end of 2026, and the company planning to run it is Chinese. WeRide said it has approval for public-road testing and is moving into the final stretch before launching commercial operations in the Spanish capital.
The plan was first announced in June. Spain is WeRide’s first European robotaxi market with Uber, and the structure is deliberately asset-light: WeRide supplies the autonomous driving technology, Uber brings passenger demand through its app, and local operator AVOMO runs the fleet.
The licence that unlocked it
In September 2026 WeRide obtained Spain’s first L4 autonomous passenger vehicle operating licence from the country’s traffic authority, clearing it to deploy vehicles and test on public roads. Once operating and regulatory conditions are met, Madrid riders will be able to hail a WeRide robotaxi through Uber.
That sequence matters more than the announcement. Autonomous driving has been stuck for years at the point where technology is ready and permits are not. Spain issued the permit first and let the commercial structure follow.
Waymo arrived six days later, in the same city
Competition is closing in fast. On 20 October Waymo announced it is entering Madrid as well. WeRide’s advantage is timing and paperwork, having secured the licence and the local partnership earlier, but a global player with deeper capital is now pursuing the same streets.
The European robotaxi market is being divided by regulatory permission rather than by engineering. Whoever holds the operating licence in a city sets the terms for everyone behind them, and Spain has just shown how quickly a first mover’s lead can be reduced to a few weeks.
For Chinese autonomous driving companies, Europe is the test of whether the technology travels. For European cities, it is a choice between a Chinese operator who moved first and an American one who arrived with more money.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Gasgoo report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://auto.gasgoo.com/news/202610/22I70475595C601.shtml.