Uber Technologies UBER, in collaboration with WeRide WRD, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company, announced plans to launch Spain’s first commercial robotaxi pilot in Madrid, marking the partnership’s debut in the European market. The service is expected to commence later this year in collaboration with the Regional Government of Madrid, with rides accessible through the Uber app.
The deployment will be rolled out in phases, beginning with a fleet that includes trained vehicle operators. Over time, the service is expected to expand significantly, with WeRide, AVOMO, Uber's autonomous vehicle (“AV”) fleet operations partner, and the former planning to add hundreds of robotaxis as operational targets are achieved, including the gradual introduction of fully driverless commercial services across key urban areas.
The initiative builds on the companies’ existing collaboration in the Middle East, where fully driverless commercial robotaxi services already operate in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with a launch in Riyadh anticipated.
The Madrid deployment aligns with WeRide’s asset-light commercialization strategy, under which established partners provide fleet investment and operational support while the company supplies autonomous driving technology. In Madrid, transportation services will be supported by AVOMO, leveraging WeRide’s autonomous driving platform.
Madrid is considered one of Europe’s most promising robotaxi markets due to its strong mobility demand, large urban population and supportive policy environment. The rollout will be powered by the WeRide One universal technology platform and the WeRide GENESIS simulation platform, which are expected to help replicate the operational success achieved in the Middle East and enable an efficient deployment of safe and reliable robotaxi services in the Spanish capital.
The launch represents the fourth city under the broader WeRide-Uber partnership, which envisions expansion to 11 more cities by 2030. The companies aim to deploy tens of thousands of robotaxis on public roads worldwide, supporting the growth of autonomous mobility services across multiple markets.
The development also advances Uber’s long-term robotaxi strategy. Rather than developing autonomous driving technology in-house, Uber has increasingly focused on partnering with leading autonomous vehicle companies and integrating their services into its global mobility platform. The Madrid launch strengthens Uber’s presence in the autonomous mobility ecosystem, expands its robotaxi footprint into Europe and demonstrates continued progress toward building a large-scale global network of autonomous ride-hailing services. By adding another major city to its autonomous mobility portfolio, Uber moves closer to establishing itself as a key platform provider for robotaxi operations worldwide.
Uber aims to establish a strong foothold in the robotaxi space through a partnership-focused approach. By working with third-party autonomous technology developers, the company sidesteps the heavy research and development costs required to build proprietary self-driving systems. Recently, Uber entered into a strategic partnership with Amazon’s AMZN Zoox to deploy its purpose-built robotaxis on the former’s platform.
The Amazon unit’s robotaxis differ from many other autonomous vehicles currently in development because they are not modified versions of traditional passenger cars. Instead, the vehicles are purpose-built specifically for ride-hailing services and designed to enhance rider comfort and social interaction. The Amazon unit and Uber indicated that Zoox rides are expected to be available in Los Angeles next year.
UBER’s Share Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Shares of UBER have declined in single digits (% wise) over the past three months. Courtesy of the unimpressive performance, UBER’s shares have underperformed the Zacks Internet-Services industry over the same time frame.
3-Month Price Comparison
From a valuation standpoint, UBER trades at a 12-month forward price-to-sales of 2.37X. UBER trades at a discount compared with its industry.
See how the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Uber’s earnings has been revised over the past 90 days.
UBER's Zacks Rank
UBER currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days
Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."
Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.9% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention.
See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report
WeRide Inc. (WRD): Free Stock Analysis Report
Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).