WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD), Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER), and AVOMO, the autonomous vehicle division of the Moove Cars Group, announced 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 permit authorizes deployment preparation activities in the Greater Madrid region, including mapping, route validation, and operational readiness testing. An initial phase will deploy 20 vehicles equipped with WeRide's autonomous driving technology, each operating under the supervision of an in-car vehicle specialist across high-demand areas in the region.

Commercial operations are expected to begin by the end of 2026, pending completion of deployment preparations and the necessary operational and regulatory milestones. The permit also represents the first national approval for WeRide's GXR autonomous vehicle in the European Union.

Madrid marks the fourth city under the WeRide-Uber strategic partnership, which targets 15 cities by 2030. The deployment is described as WeRide's ninth autonomous driving permit worldwide.

"Receiving this permit is a significant achievement for WeRide as it marks our ninth autonomous driving permit worldwide," said Jennifer Li, CFO and Head of International at WeRide.

Sarfraz Maredia, Global Head of Autonomous Mobility and Delivery at Uber, said the Madrid region "is quickly establishing itself as one of Europe's most forward-looking environments for autonomous mobility."

Manuel Puga, CEO of Moove Cars Group, noted that AVOMO currently manages autonomous fleets in Austin and Atlanta, operating around 400 autonomous vehicles with a team of more than 200 specialists.

Information in this article is based on a press release statement issued by the three companies.