Latest news with #WeRide
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why WeRide Stock Soared Higher This Week
The Chinese autonomous driving company is launching in Saudi Arabia with full commercial operations expected before the end of the year. The company has also launched a pilot program for its sanitation vehicle in Riyadh. The company recently announced a major share repurchase program, signaling confidence. 10 stocks we like better than WeRide › Shares of WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) are up this week. The company's stock spiked 9% as of 2:19 p.m. ET but was up as much as 16.8% earlier in the week. The jump comes as the S&P 500 rose 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5%. The Chinese company's stock jumped after it announced a major expansion into Saudi Arabia in partnership with the ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies. The company announced earlier in the week that it will be launching operations in Saudi Arabia, marking a major expansion of its business in the Middle East. Its robotaxis will be available to the public via Uber by the end of the year. WeRide also launched its Robosweeper S1 -- an autonomous sanitation vehicle -- in Riyadh. The company says it is the first "monetized autonomous sanitation project in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East" and expects to further expand the program in the coming year. The news of the Saudi Arabia launch comes just weeks after WeRide announced that its board had approved a substantial share repurchase program of up to $100 million over the next 12 months. The move shows leadership is confident in the company's future and will help drive value for stockholders. WeRide CFO Jennifer Li said of the decision, "The adoption of the share repurchase program reflects our confidence in our business fundamentals, financial health, and long-term outlook, and underscores our commitment to delivering value to shareholders." WeRide is finding success early among a field of many autonomous vehicle competitors in the race to bring autonomous technology to market. However, stiff competition remains from major players like Tesla and Alphabet-backed Waymo. While WeRide still operates deep in the red, it's not unusual for a company in its position and with the launch of commercial operations to have a negative balance. For those with patience and a high risk tolerance, I think WeRide is a good pick. Before you buy stock in WeRide, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and WeRide wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $638,985!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $853,108!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 978% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Tesla, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why WeRide Stock Soared Higher This Week was originally published by The Motley Fool Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Why WeRide Stock Soared Higher This Week
Shares of WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) are up this week. The company's stock spiked 9% as of 2:19 p.m. ET but was up as much as 16.8% earlier in the week. The jump comes as the S&P 500 rose 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5%. The Chinese company's stock jumped after it announced a major expansion into Saudi Arabia in partnership with the ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies. WeRide is launching in Saudi Arabia The company announced earlier in the week that it will be launching operations in Saudi Arabia, marking a major expansion of its business in the Middle East. Its robotaxis will be available to the public via Uber by the end of the year. WeRide also launched its Robosweeper S1 -- an autonomous sanitation vehicle -- in Riyadh. The company says it is the first "monetized autonomous sanitation project in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East" and expects to further expand the program in the coming year. WeRide announced a major stock repurchase program The news of the Saudi Arabia launch comes just weeks after WeRide announced that its board had approved a substantial share repurchase program of up to $100 million over the next 12 months. The move shows leadership is confident in the company's future and will help drive value for stockholders. WeRide CFO Jennifer Li said of the decision, "The adoption of the share repurchase program reflects our confidence in our business fundamentals, financial health, and long-term outlook, and underscores our commitment to delivering value to shareholders." WeRide is ahead of the pack WeRide is finding success early among a field of many autonomous vehicle competitors in the race to bring autonomous technology to market. However, stiff competition remains from major players like Tesla and Alphabet -backed Waymo. While WeRide still operates deep in the red, it's not unusual for a company in its position and with the launch of commercial operations to have a negative balance. For those with patience and a high risk tolerance, I think WeRide is a good pick. Should you invest $1,000 in WeRide right now? Before you buy stock in WeRide, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and WeRide wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $638,985!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $853,108!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is978% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to171%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Tesla, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
TimesLIVE
3 days ago
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Chinese robotaxi makers head to a welcoming Gulf as overseas ambitions grow
If you're a Chinese robotaxi company, the Gulf has become the place to be, attractive for a regulatory environment that is embracing the technology and robust demand for ride-hailing services. Their enthusiasm has been evident in a flurry of recently announced expansion plans. This week, became the third Chinese robotaxi company after rivals Baidu and WeRide to unveil an agreement with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority in the United Arab Emirates. It plans to start trialling its vehicles in the city this year with full driverless operations slated to start in 2026. WeRide also said this week it would be expanding into Saudi Arabia, where it has been testing its vehicles in cities like Riyadh, adding that it expects commercial services to start in late 2025. That follows its launch of fully driverless robotaxi trials in the UAE's Abu Dhabi this month with commercial rides due to be rolled out from the end of June. It also soon plans to launch in Dubai. Baidu outlined plans in March to deploy 'dozens' of robotaxis in partnership with UAE-based Autogo in Abu Dhabi with a goal to start commercial operations by 2026. It also aims to start trials in Dubai this year. The UAE 'is relatively open but they are also careful and pragmatic on details,' said Zhang Liang, a general manager in Baidu's autonomous driving unit Apollo, who oversees European and the Middle East markets. 'We are actually happy to see positive and active competition and we won't be afraid of such competition,' he said at the World New Energy Vehicle Congress in Abu Dhabi last week. Worried about worsening traffic congestion and a shortage of taxi and ride-hailing services that largely rely on migrant workers for their drivers, Dubai has set a goal of having 25% of its daily transportation be smart and driverless by 2030. Abu Dhabi's target is 25% of total trips by 2040 while Saudi Arabia is aiming for 15% by 2030. 'Middle East and this kind of market, they already have the infrastructure, they have the capital, they have the ambition, which is very important. So that's why everybody is queuing up here,' said Thaha Muhammed Abdul Kareem, a Qatar-based independent consultant. Both and WeRide have partnered with Uber in the region so their vehicles can be ordered through the Uber app.
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Chinese robotaxi makers head to a welcoming Gulf as overseas ambitions grow
ABU DHABI - If you're a Chinese robotaxi company, the Gulf has become the place to be, attractive for a regulatory environment that is embracing the technology and robust demand for ride-hailing services. Their enthusiasm has been evident in a flurry of recently announced expansion plans. This week, became the third Chinese robotaxi company after rivals Baidu and WeRide to unveil an agreement with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority in the United Arab Emirates. It plans to start trialling its vehicles in the city this year with full driverless operations slated to start in 2026. WeRide also said this week it would be expanding into Saudi Arabia, where it has been testing its vehicles in cities like Riyadh, adding that it expects commercial services to start in late 2025. That follows its launch of fully driverless robotaxi trials in the UAE's Abu Dhabi this month with commercial rides due to be rolled out from the end of June. It also soon plans to launch in Dubai. Baidu outlined plans in March to deploy "dozens" of robotaxis in partnership with UAE-based Autogo in Abu Dhabi with a goal to start commercial operations by 2026. It also aims to start trials in Dubai this year. The UAE "is relatively open but they are also careful and pragmatic on details," said Zhang Liang, a general manager in Baidu's autonomous driving unit Apollo, who oversees European and the Middle East markets. "We are actually happy to see positive and active competition and we won't be afraid of such competition," he said at the World New Energy Vehicle Congress in Abu Dhabi last week. Worried about worsening traffic congestion and a shortage of taxi and ride-hailing services that largely rely on migrant workers for their drivers, Dubai has set a goal of having 25% of its daily transportation be smart and driverless by 2030. Abu Dhabi's target is 25% of total trips by 2040 while Saudi Arabia is aiming for 15% by 2030. "Middle East and this kind of market, they already have the infrastructure, they have the capital, they have the ambition, which is very important. So that's why everybody is queuing up here," said Thaha Muhammed Abdul Kareem, a Qatar-based independent consultant. Both and WeRide have partnered with Uber in the region so their vehicles can be ordered through the Uber app. FUTURE US-CHINA BATTLEGROUND? The Gulf may become the region where Chinese and U.S. robotaxis go head to head for the first time. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during a Gulf tour with U.S. President Donald Trump this month that he would take Cybercab robotaxis to Saudi Arabia, although he didn't mention a timeframe. At present, however, Waymo is the only U.S. firm to run uncrewed robotaxi services carrying paying passengers. Tesla plans to launch a trial in Austin, Texas by the end of June, aiming to scale up to about a thousand vehicles within a few months. Its Chinese rivals have more experience. Baidu's Zhang said the company was confident it could do well abroad, citing how its vehicles had completed 10 million trips in China as of March without a serious traffic accident. The search engine giant has been running its Apollo Go robotaxi services commercially in several Chinese cities since 2022. The vehicles have so-called 4 autonomy - which means they are driverless but can travel only in certain areas. Those areas can, however, be quite large with the city of Wuhan, for example, making more than 3,000 km of public roads available for robotaxi use. "This year marks the first year for Apollo to go abroad officially," Zhang said. The company plans to make forays into Europe and Southeast Asia, he added without providing a timeframe. which has a fleet of 300 robotaxis in China, said long term it hopes to integrate its robotaxis with Dubai's metro and tram routes. Backed by Japan's Toyota, sees this year as its inaugural year for large-scale commercial deployment and aims to ramp up its fleet globally to thousands of vehicles in the next two years. It also has test permits in the United States, South Korea and Luxembourg. WeRide said it has begun "public operation" of its robotaxi GXR minivan in several Chinese cities as well as Zurich and Abu Dhabi. It partnered with Uber in May to expand into 15 cities in the next five years and says that in addition to the Middle East, Singapore, Japan and Europe face driver shortages in the transportation sector, making them key target markets. (Reporting by Zhang Yan; Editing by Brenda Goh and Edwina Gibbs)
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Chinese robotaxi makers head to a welcoming Gulf as overseas ambitions grow
ABU DHABI (Reuters) - If you're a Chinese robotaxi company, the Gulf has become the place to be, attractive for a regulatory environment that is embracing the technology and robust demand for ride-hailing services. Their enthusiasm has been evident in a flurry of recently announced expansion plans. This week, became the third Chinese robotaxi company after rivals Baidu and WeRide to unveil an agreement with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority in the United Arab Emirates. It plans to start trialling its vehicles in the city this year with full driverless operations slated to start in 2026. WeRide also said this week it would be expanding into Saudi Arabia, where it has been testing its vehicles in cities like Riyadh, adding that it expects commercial services to start in late 2025. That follows its launch of fully driverless robotaxi trials in the UAE's Abu Dhabi this month with commercial rides due to be rolled out from the end of June. It also soon plans to launch in Dubai. Baidu outlined plans in March to deploy "dozens" of robotaxis in partnership with UAE-based Autogo in Abu Dhabi with a goal to start commercial operations by 2026. It also aims to start trials in Dubai this year. The UAE "is relatively open but they are also careful and pragmatic on details," said Zhang Liang, a general manager in Baidu's autonomous driving unit Apollo, who oversees European and the Middle East markets. "We are actually happy to see positive and active competition and we won't be afraid of such competition," he said at the World New Energy Vehicle Congress in Abu Dhabi last week. Worried about worsening traffic congestion and a shortage of taxi and ride-hailing services that largely rely on migrant workers for their drivers, Dubai has set a goal of having 25% of its daily transportation be smart and driverless by 2030. Abu Dhabi's target is 25% of total trips by 2040 while Saudi Arabia is aiming for 15% by 2030. "Middle East and this kind of market, they already have the infrastructure, they have the capital, they have the ambition, which is very important. So that's why everybody is queuing up here," said Thaha Muhammed Abdul Kareem, a Qatar-based independent consultant. Both and WeRide have partnered with Uber in the region so their vehicles can be ordered through the Uber app. FUTURE US-CHINA BATTLEGROUND? The Gulf may become the region where Chinese and U.S. robotaxis go head to head for the first time. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during a Gulf tour with U.S. President Donald Trump this month that he would take Cybercab robotaxis to Saudi Arabia, although he didn't mention a timeframe. At present, however, Waymo is the only U.S. firm to run uncrewed robotaxi services carrying paying passengers. Tesla plans to launch a trial in Austin, Texas by the end of June, aiming to scale up to about a thousand vehicles within a few months. Its Chinese rivals have more experience. Baidu's Zhang said the company was confident it could do well abroad, citing how its vehicles had completed 10 million trips in China as of March without a serious traffic accident. The search engine giant has been running its Apollo Go robotaxi services commercially in several Chinese cities since 2022. The vehicles have so-called 4 autonomy - which means they are driverless but can travel only in certain areas. Those areas can, however, be quite large with the city of Wuhan, for example, making more than 3,000 km of public roads available for robotaxi use. "This year marks the first year for Apollo to go abroad officially," Zhang said. The company plans to make forays into Europe and Southeast Asia, he added without providing a timeframe. which has a fleet of 300 robotaxis in China, said long term it hopes to integrate its robotaxis with Dubai's metro and tram routes. Backed by Japan's Toyota, sees this year as its inaugural year for large-scale commercial deployment and aims to ramp up its fleet globally to thousands of vehicles in the next two years. It also has test permits in the United States, South Korea and Luxembourg. WeRide said it has begun "public operation" of its robotaxi GXR minivan in several Chinese cities as well as Zurich and Abu Dhabi. It partnered with Uber in May to expand into 15 cities in the next five years and says that in addition to the Middle East, Singapore, Japan and Europe face driver shortages in the transportation sector, making them key target markets. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
