California green lights Chinese robotaxi service

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) hold tremendous promise in terms of safety and accessibility, but their commercial deployment has fallen far short of original expectations. Highly publicised incidents on the road, including injuries and even fatalities, have not helped assuage public concerns. However, a spate of recent announcements point to a revival of momentum, at least in the US.

In June 2024, General Motors announced an US$850m capital infusion for the company’s self-driving unit Cruise, which had grounded its fleet following several safety incidents. In its Q2 earnings call, Alphabet confirmed a US$5bn multi-year investment for Waymo. Earlier in August, Pittsburgh-based company’s Aurora Driver added US$483m to its coffers through a new funding round. All these players are US companies. However, the most recent news on the self-driving front comes from Chinese player WeRide, which has been granted approval to run passenger-carrying robotaxi services in California.