WeRide has expanded its strategic cooperation agreement with Geely Farizon, with the two companies announcing their plans to deliver 2,000 upgraded, purpose-built, mass-produced Robotaxi GXRs by the end of 2026, advancing WeRide’s progress toward large-scale global Robotaxi commercialization.
The agreement was announced alongside a demonstration of the upgraded Robotaxi GXR. The new model is scheduled to roll off the production line in Q3 2026.
As of January 2026, WeRide’s global robotaxi fleet totaled 1,023 vehicles. With the phased addition of the planned GXRs, the company expects its operating fleet to exceed 2,600 vehicles this year as it works toward a long-term target of tens of thousands of robotaxis by 2030.
The new Robotaxi GXR is equipped with WeRide’s latest Gen8 autonomous driving system – built around the company’s Sensor Suite 8.0 (SS8.0) – which improves safety, operational consistency and long-term reliability.
The Gen8 platform includes a thousand-line lidar system designed to increase point-cloud resolution by 17 times and extend detection range to up to 600m, which the company says is two to three times that of typical industry solutions. The extended sensing capability is intended to provide more reaction time in high-speed scenarios and improve detection of smaller obstacles and fast-moving hazards.
WeRide also states that the perception system maintains stable performance in heavy rain or dense fog, enabling all-weather autonomous operation.
The Robotaxi GXR uses Farizon’s AI-enabled drive-by-wire chassis, combined with its production and supply chain infrastructure. The companies say this enables a significant reduction in manufacturing time, cutting assembly from around one hour to under 10 minutes. Total vehicle cost is expected to fall by a further 15% as a result of ongoing cost-reduction measures.
“This deepened strategic collaboration between WeRide and Geely Farizon marks our shift from a product-level partnership to an integrated ecosystem, and is a significant milestone in WeRide’s global Robotaxi deployment,” said Dr Tony Han, co-founder and CEO of WeRide. “By combining technological leadership with high-efficiency mass production, we will accelerate commercial rollout of the Robotaxi GXR across key markets, including China, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe – delivering safer, more reliable, and more accessible autonomous mobility worldwide.”
“Our partnership with WeRide is not only a precise integration of technology and resources, but also a clear example of Farizon’s strategic transformation from manufacturing to providing comprehensive ‘intelligent manufacturing + services’ solutions,” said Mike Fan, CEO of Farizon New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group. “Moving forward, leveraging Farizon’s leading R&D capabilities, standardized intelligent manufacturing and smart assembly capacity, we will establish a highly reliable and adaptable intelligent manufacturing foundation for the mass production and delivery of the purpose-built GXR model, providing strong support for the large-scale deployment of L4 autonomous driving technology.|
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