(RTTNews) - WeRide Inc. (WRD, 0800.HK), an autonomous driving technology company, on Sunday said it signed an expanded strategic cooperation agreement with Zhejiang Farizon New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group, a unit of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
The agreement covers the delivery of 2,000 upgraded, purpose-built Robotaxi GXRs by 2026 as the companies advance large-scale global commercialization of autonomous ride-hailing services.
The new Robotaxi GXR is scheduled to roll off the production line in the third quarter of 2026.
The company said that the collaboration supports broader deployment of the Robotaxi GXR across markets including China, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe.
As of January 2026, the company's global Robotaxi fleet totaled 1,023 vehicles. With the addition of 2,000 new GXRs, the company expects its global operating Robotaxi fleet to exceed 2,600 vehicles this year.
The upgraded Robotaxi GXR will be equipped with WeRide's GEN8 autonomous driving system and the company's self-developed Sensor Suite 8.0, designed to improve vehicle safety, perception capability and operational reliability.
The vehicle also uses Farizon's AI-enabled drive-by-wire chassis and production system, which is expected to reduce vehicle assembly time from about one hour to under 10 minutes. Total vehicle cost is projected to decline by about 15% through continued cost-optimization efforts.
WeRide is currently trading 7.19% lesser at HKD 16 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
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