Qiming Venture Partners Portfolio Company WeRide Launches Spain's First Public Road Pre-Mass-Produced Autonomous Robobus Trial in Downtown Barcelona
This Barcelona pilot marks another milestone in WeRide's international expansion, demonstrating the company's technical leadership as it pushes beyond Asia into core European markets.
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Recently, Qiming Venture Partners portfolio company WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD), a global leader in autonomous driving technology, announced that it has launched an autonomous Robobus trial service with Renault Group in central Barcelona — the first open-road, production-ready autonomous driving trial operation in Spain, fully demonstrating WeRide's technical capabilities in high-density, complex urban traffic scenarios.
Authorized by Barcelona City Council and Spain's Directorate General of Traffic (DGT), the WeRide Robobus trial service opened to the public from March 10 to 14, operating daily from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The circular route spans over 2 kilometers with four stops along the way, passing landmarks including Casa Batlló and La Pedrera.
WeRide Robobus trial route in central Barcelona
During the 2024 French Open, WeRide and Renault Group collaborated to provide the only on-site L4 autonomous Robobus shuttle service, covering more than 1,000 kilometers in total and serving approximately 700 tournament passengers. This trial in Spain marks another deep collaboration between the two parties building on their French Open deployment. By offering trial rides in busy central Barcelona, they aim to fully demonstrate to the public the reliability and safety of autonomous driving technology, as well as the feasibility of autonomous mobility solutions.
In May 2024, Renault Group announced its autonomous driving development strategy, planning to work with WeRide to develop localized L4 autonomous Robobuses tailored to European market demand before 2030, meeting Europe's green public transportation development needs. Renault Group predicts that European demand for electric autonomous Robobuses will reach thousands of units in the coming years.
"This Barcelona trial is another important achievement in WeRide's internationalization strategy, showcasing our technology leadership as we expand from Asian markets into core European markets," said Tony Han, Founder and CEO of WeRide. "This is not only recognition of our technology maturity, but also an upgrade in our strategic partnership. The French Open project validated the feasibility of our vehicles in large-scale event scenarios, while this Spain trial extends into central urban public transportation, laying a solid foundation for our 2030 strategic goals and further demonstrating WeRide's concrete efforts toward our vision of making driverless mobility benefit people worldwide."
WeRide Robobus begins trial operation in Barcelona
Entering 2025, WeRide's commercial deployment in Europe is gaining unstoppable momentum. On February 28, WeRide partnered with beti, Renault Group, and Macif to launch Europe's first fully driverless commercial L4 autonomous Robobus line in France's Drôme department. In January, WeRide collaborated with Zurich Airport and Swiss Transit Lab (STL) to launch Europe's first airport autonomous Robobus trial operation. The same month, WeRide announced a partnership with Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) to deploy a Robotaxi fleet serving the Furtal region in Q2 2025.
WeRide and Renault Group launch their first autonomous Robobus trial in Spain
WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD), a global leader in autonomous driving and a portfolio company of Qiming Venture Partners, and Renault Group is offering an autonomous Robobus trial service in the center of Barcelona, aiming to showcase the maturity and potential of automated transport technologies for the first time in a dense and complex urban environment.
The demonstration highlights the technological leadership in autonomous driving solutions that WeRide and Renault Group are bringing to enable agile, flexible, modern, eco-friendly, and affordable mobility, especially for European cities aspiring to carbon neutrality and Low Emission Zones.
The experimental Robobus, which has the required authorization from Barcelona City Council and the Directorate General of Traffic, operates from March 10th to March 14th from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on a circular itinerary of more than 2 kilometers.
The goal is for riders to easily and safely discover autonomous driving in real traffic. The route will have four stops where passengers will be able to get comfortably on and off, giving riders the opportunity to experience the autonomous and sustainable driving of the future while enjoying a unique tour of Barcelona.
This will be WeRide and Renault Group's first test in Spain of their Level-4 autonomous vehicle for public transport. The initiative continues the experimentation carried out by the partners during the Roland-Garros 2024 tennis tournament.
"This Barcelona trial represents a pivotal moment in WeRide's international expansion strategy, demonstrating our technology leadership beyond Asian markets and into the heart of Europe," said Tony Han, Founder and CEO at WeRide. "By bringing our Level-4 autonomous Robobus to navigate Barcelona's complex urban environment in real traffic conditions, we're showcasing not just the maturity of our technology, but its adaptability to diverse global settings. This collaboration with Renault Group underscores our shared vision for making smart, sustainable mobility solutions accessible worldwide."
Last month, WeRide announced the first European fully driverless commercial deployment of its Robobus as part of a shuttle service partnership with beti, Renault Group, and Macif that will feature an L4-level automated mobility service in France's Dôme region. In January, WeRide announced its first commercial autonomous shuttle project in Europe at Zurich Airport, and was also chosen technology supplier for a pilot project on autonomous driving by Swiss national railway Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB).
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The World Is Embracing Chinese Technology
Founded in 2006, Qiming Venture Partners currently manages 11 USD funds and 7 RMB funds, with total assets under management of $9.5 billion. Since its inception, the firm has focused on investing in outstanding early- and growth-stage companies in Technology and Consumer (T&C) and Healthcare sectors.
To date, Qiming Venture Partners has invested in over 580 high-growth innovative companies, of which more than 210 have gone public on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or exited through M&A and other means. Over 80 portfolio companies have become recognized unicorns or super-unicorns.
Many Qiming Venture Partners portfolio companies have grown into the most influential companies in their respective fields, including Xiaomi (01810.HK), Meituan (03690.HK), Bilibili (NASDAQ: BILI, 09626.HK), Zhihu (NYSE: ZH, 02390.HK), Roborock (688169.SH), UBTECH (09880.HK), WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD), Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals (603087.SH), Tigermed (300347.SZ, 03347.HK), Zai Lab (NASDAQ: ZLAB, 09688.HK), CanSino Biologics (688185.SH, 06185.HK), Schrödinger (NASDAQ: SDGR), MicroPort EP MedTech (688617.SH), New Horizon Health (06606.HK), Sanyou Medical (688085.SH), Amoy Diagnostics (300685.SZ), Berry Genomics (000710.SZ), GenScript ProBio (688520.SH), Yuanxin Technology, ClinChoice, Belief BioMed, Biren Technology, among others.