WeRide Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc., alongside AVOMO, secured Spain’s first national operating permit for Level 4 autonomous passenger vehicles. Granted by Spain’s Directorate General of Traffic under the ES-AV framework, the authorization allows testing of WeRide’s GXR vehicles on public roads, including mapping, route validation and operational-readiness work. The partners plan to deploy 20 vehicles in high-demand areas of Greater Madrid, with an in-car vehicle specialist supervising each vehicle during the initial phase. Commercial operations are expected to begin by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory and operational milestones. Madrid will be the fourth of 15 cities covered by the companies’ strategic partnership, which plans to add 11 more cities by 2030 and eventually deploy tens of thousands of autonomous vehicles globally. WeRide will provide the autonomous-driving technology, Uber its ride-hailing platform and AVOMO fleet operations. The approval is WeRide’s first national permit for its GXR vehicle in the European Union and its ninth autonomous-driving permit worldwide. At the time of publication Thursday, WeRide shares were down 0.69% at $5.78 and Uber shares were down 0.27% at $70.89; earlier pre-market trading had put Uber shares up 0.53% at $71.48.