WeRide and Uber announced an expansion of their strategic partnership aimed at deploying autonomous vehicle services in 15 additional cities globally over the next five years, furthering the reach of innovative mobility solutions.

WeRide, one of the Chinese companies testing autonomous vehicles on US roads, confirmed that its vehicles process and store data locally, with technology that automatically edits videos to mask faces and license plates, and immediately deletes raw footage. These measures aim to protect user privacy and reduce surveillance risks, counteracting potential authoritarian misuse of collected data.

On November 15, 2023, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers sent warning letters to Chinese-owned autonomous vehicle companies, including WeRide, expressing concerns about their data collection practices and potential financial ties to the Chinese Communist Party. The letters called for greater transparency regarding the data collected during US testing of autonomous vehicles.

WeRide has been granted the first national license for self-driving vehicles by the United Arab Emirates, allowing its Level 4 autonomous vehicles to be tested on public roads under a national initiative. The deal raises concerns about engaging with authoritarian regimes.