WeRide, Geely's Farizon plan 2,000 Robotaxis for 2026

WeRide and Farizon, a unit of Geely Holding Group, said on Monday they plan to deliver 2,000 units of their upgraded Robotaxi GXR vehicles in 2026, marking a step toward larger-scale autonomous ride-hailing operations worldwide.

The vehicles are scheduled to roll off the production line at Farizon's plant from the third quarter of 2026, said the companies.

The plan underscores the accelerating commercialization of WeRide's autonomous taxi business.

With the addition of 2,000 units, the operating fleet is expected to exceed 2,600 vehicles this year as the company works toward building a fleet of tens of thousands by 2030.

The move comes as autonomous-driving companies worldwide race to scale robotaxi fleets and prove commercial viability, though regulatory and profitability challenges remain.

The upgraded GXR is equipped with WeRide's GEN8 autonomous driving suite, built around the Sensor Suite 8.0 platform.

The system includes a thousand-line lidar capable of detecting objects as far as 600 meters—two to three times the range of many mainstream solutions—allowing earlier hazard recognition and more time for safety decisions in high-speed scenarios.

On the manufacturing side, Farizon will provide its drive-by-wire AI chassis and production capabilities. The companies said assembly time is expected to drop from about one hour to under 10 minutes per unit, while overall vehicle costs could fall by roughly 15 percent.

"This cooperation marks an important milestone as we accelerate the global deployment of Robotaxi services," said Tony Han, founder and chief executive of WeRide.

First introduced in 2024, the Robotaxi GXR built based on Farion's SuperVAN is already offering fully driverless commercial services in Beijing, Guangzhou in Guangdong province, and Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Public operations are also underway in Dubai, also in the UAE, and Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. WeRide plans to launch fully driverless operations in Dubai this month.