Singapore’s acting minister of transport, Jeffrey Siow, visited WeRide’s headquarters in Guangzhou on June 29 to underscore the country and company’s cooperation on autonomous mobility and announce that Singapore will deploy autonomous vehicles (AVs) in public housing estates by the end of 2025, integrating them into the national public transportation network.
The initial rollout will take place in Punggol, a town in northeastern Singapore, with plans to expand to Tengah, a newly developed “car-lite” town where autonomous vehicles can deliver strong mobility value.
As Singapore faces an ageing population and labour shortages, autonomous mobility solutions such as its Robobus and Robotaxi are seen as practical, scalable ways to strengthen connectivity across the public transportation system. Minister Siow noted that autonomous vehicles can help ease manpower constraints and support services such as night buses or feeder routes, which are currently challenging to operate. He added that public transportation operators have been exploring AVs for some time and are now partnering with companies like WeRide to bring them into service.
As part of the program, Acting Minister Siow and senior minister of state for transport Sun Xueling engaged with senior WeRide leaders about the company’s technology, Singapore operations and future deployment plans. The discussion highlighted a mutual interest in advancing collaboration on autonomous driving research, development and commercialization, in line with Singapore’s goals to expand autonomous vehicle adoption over the next five years. As part of the visit, the delegation experienced WeRide’s Robobus and Robotaxi.
WeRide says it welcomes Singapore’s push for autonomous mobility and has been actively contributing to the next phase of public transportation innovation through its AVs.
AVs in Singapore
Since June 2024, WeRide’s Robobus at Resorts World Sentosa has completed a year of safe operations, connecting locations such as the Equarius Hotel, Hotel Michael and Hotel Ora. In November 2024, the company launched Singapore’s first commercialized autonomous sanitation project by deploying its Robosweeper S6 and S1 at Marina Coastal Drive and the Esplanade.
Looking ahead, WeRide aims to deepen partnerships with local regulators and stakeholders to introduce more validated products and scalable business models across Singapore.
In related news, WeRide has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Uber Technologies. Under the agreement, pilot operations of autonomous vehicles will commence in Dubai later this year via the Uber app. Read the full story here