(Yicai Global) Dec. 15 -- Chinese carmaker Guangzhou Automobile Group has invested USD30 million in autonomous driving startup WeRide to develop and manufacture robotaxis for large-scale operation.

The pair plans to build a fleet of tens of thousands of robotaxis in the coming years to provide the public with self-driving mobility services, the Guangzhou-based firms said in separate statements yesterday. The fleet may start operations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and then expand to the whole country.

The new self-driving taxi model the companies jointly developed will be based on GAC’s X-Soul, the automaker’s newly launched electronic and electrical architecture with an innovative modular design that can fully meet WeRide’s customization requirements for the next-generation robotaxi.

WeRide will set the industry benchmark with its self-driving technology and over two years of experience in robotaxi services for the public, while GAC will provide vehicle platforms with redundancy systems suitable for WeRide’s L4 autonomous driving to achieve safe and reliable operations.

“We are very pleased to take another big step forward with WeRide in developing L4 autonomous driving vehicles,” GAC’s Chairman Zeng Qinghong said.

The two parties will make breakthroughs in the mass production of L4 self-driving vehicles and lead the development of robotaxis, said Tony Han, founder and chief executive officer of WeRide.

WeRide started robotaxi services in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in November 2019. It has also carried out commercial pilot operations and fully driverless testing of mini robobuses and robovans.

Editor: Futura Costaglione