Spain's First L4 Ticket: WeRide, Uber and AVOMO Cleared for Madrid Roads
Spain's Directorate General of Traffic issued the country's first national Level 4 permit for passenger AVs, covering 20 WeRide GXR vehicles in Greater Madrid under the ES-AV framework.
Sam Okonkwo, Robotaxi · Sept. 10, 2026 · 5-6 min
MADRID - WeRide, Uber and AVOMO said they have received Spain's first national permit for Level 4 autonomous passenger vehicles to operate on public roads, issued by Spain's Directorate General of Traffic under the ES-AV framework.
The authorization, announced with the Regional Government of Madrid, lets the partners begin mapping, route validation and operational-readiness testing in Greater Madrid ahead of a planned commercial robotaxi launch. Commercial operations are expected by the end of 2026, after deployment preparations and remaining regulatory and operational milestones.
The first phase will deploy 20 vehicles equipped with WeRide's autonomous driving technology, each supervised by an in-car vehicle specialist, in high-demand areas of the Greater Madrid region. The permit is the first national approval in the European Union for WeRide's GXR autonomous vehicle.
Madrid is the fourth of 15 cities in the WeRide-Uber strategic partnership, with another 11 cities planned by 2030. The companies say they intend to deploy tens of thousands of autonomous vehicles on public roads. WeRide provides the driving stack, Uber the ride-hailing platform, and AVOMO fleet operations. AVOMO, the autonomous vehicle division of Moove Cars Group, already manages about 400 vehicles in Austin and Atlanta with more than 200 specialists.
Receiving this permit is a significant achievement for WeRide as it marks our ninth autonomous driving permit worldwide and a testament to our global leadership in commercializing autonomous vehicle services. The Madrid region is a key gateway for our European expansion, and together with partners like Uber and AVOMO, we are one step closer to bringing autonomous mobility to Spain before the end of 2026.
This permit marks an important milestone in bringing autonomous mobility from planning into real-world deployment. The Madrid region is quickly establishing itself as one of Europe's most forward-looking environments for autonomous mobility, and we're excited to be working alongside our partners to help make that vision a reality.
Every successful autonomous vehicle deployment begins long before the first commercial ride. Our experience managing autonomous fleets in the United States has shown that careful preparation, rigorous operational processes, and safety-first execution are the foundation for scaling these services.
WeRide said it now operates in more than 60 cities across 13 countries. The Madrid permit is the partners' first planned autonomous vehicle deployment in Europe.
Sam Okonkwo covers robotaxis and ride-hailing for Driverless News.
