Chinese autonomous driving firm WeRide will start testing its autonomous vehicle technology in Singapore as it partners with the country’s biggest public transport operator SMRT.
The move is part of the company’s strategy to penetrate Southeast Asian markets.
Recently, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong began a six-day trip to China by paying a visit to the WeRide headquarters in Guangzhou on March 27.
WeRide’s partners and investors in Singapore
Chinese media reports that SMRT, through its subsidiary Strides, will aid WeRide in testing self-driving vehicles in Singapore.
In retrospect, the two companies inked a memorandum of cooperation in September 2022, according to Yicai Global. At the same time, WeRide launched its Singaporean brand.
Apart from Strides, a prominent Singaporean investment house, namely K3 Ventures, will also contribute to WeRide’s growth in Singapore and other Southeast Asian markets.
With these significant backings, WeRide is now on track to develop its Singapore unit as its center in expanding to other Southeast Asian markets.
“We will make the office our center to develop in the Asia Pacific region.”
WeRide CEO and founder Tony Han
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WeRide further plans to collaborate with local authorities, academic institutions, and upstream and downstream partners to bring its autonomous driving technologies to other Southeast Asian markets.
