Driverless Minibus Hits the Clay Courts at Roland-Garros

PARIS, June 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Renault, premium partner of Roland-Garros, and French Tennis Federation (FTT), together with WeRide, a globally leading autonomous driving technology company, provide a L4 driverless minibus shuttle service for this Grand Slam tennis tournament held on the red clay.

This milestone highlights WeRide's global leadership in autonomous driving with its strong technological foundation, and extensive operational experience, further gaining trust and recognition in the international market.

The L4 driverless minibus shuttle service at Roland-Garros transports passengers from the P2 parking lot (located on the outskirts of Bois de Boulogne) to Roland-Garros Stadium. After the matches, the L4 driverless minibus departs from Roland-Garros Stadium to either Auteuil Gate Square or returns to the P2 parking lot. The entire shuttle route is approximately 5-km long and takes about 12 minutes. VIPs and media can conveniently choose nearby stops to queue for boarding. And the operation time is from May 26th to June 9th, between 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM.

WeRide Robobus is the world's first pre-designed autonomous driving robobus that is commercially deployed in large scale. It features WeRide's full-stack, self-developed autonomous driving software and hardware system, perfectly addressing the global public transportation's demand for low-carbon and green transformation. It offers autonomous shuttle services across various scenarios, including open urban roads, airports, resorts, and popular tourist sites. To day, WeRide Robobus has a global presence of nearly 30 cities worldwide, making it WeRide's flagship product and a cornerstone of its global market expansion.

WeRide's Founder and CEO, Tony Han, stated, "We are very grateful for the strong support from our strategic investor, Renault Group. Launching the Robobus shuttle service at Roland-Garros marks the first step in our joint effort with Renault Group to promote low-carbon public transportation with autonomous driving. This is also another significant milestone in WeRide's international strategy, marking our official entry into the European market. Moving forward, we will work together with Renault to bring safe, comfortable, and green autonomous public transportation services to users in Europe."

The long-term goal of Renault Group and WeRide is to jointly develop a localized version of the L4 driverless minibus for the public transportation sector that meets the needs and standards of the European market. It is estimated that in the coming years, the commercial demand for driverless minibus in the European public transportation sector will reach several thousand units per year.

On May 15, Renault Group held a press conference in Paris to share its autonomous driving strategy, focusing on the public transportation sector to meet the demand for low-carbon travel in the European market.

About WeRide

Established in 2017, WeRide is a leading, commercial-stage global company that develops autonomous driving technologies from Level 2 to Level 4. WeRide is the only tech company in the world that holds driverless permits in China, the US, the UAE and Singapore, conducting autonomous driving R&D, tests and operations in over 30 cities of 7 countries around the world, with offices in Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, as well as San Jose, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Stuttgart, etc. WeRide has operated a self-driving fleet for more than 1,600 days.

WeRide aims to develop safe and reliable driverless solutions to make mobility and transportation safer, more affordable, and accessible. As the pioneer in autonomous driving technologies and applications, WeRide has the highest revenue among all players in this industry, offering an all-rounded product mix of Robotaxi, Robobus, Robovan, Robosweeper and Advanced Driving Solution, providing smart services in online ride-hailing, on-demand transport, urban logistics, environmental sanitation, and advanced driving solution.

With a rich experience in autonomous driving R&D, commercialization, and operation, WeRide has formed partnerships with renowned global OEMs and Tier1 including Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, Yutong Group, GAC Group, BOSCH, etc.

WeRide was ranked 8th in 2023 Change the World list released by Fortune magazine.

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