Self-Driving Company Launches at French Open
WeRide, Renault Group team provide self-driving bus service for fans at the event
June 7, 2024
![WeRide and Renault Group's self-driving shuttle at the French Open. WeRide and Renault Group's self-driving shuttle at the French Open.](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt31d6b0704ba96e9d/blt21e7e2ce45bd46d8/6663453abfd3b7c11870c20a/image.jpg?width=1280&auto=webp&quality=95&format=jpg&disable=upscale)
Tennis fans at this year’s French Open have enjoyed an early taste of an autonomous bus service that could be rolled out across Europe.
Chinese company WeRide and French automaker the Renault Group paired up to provide a Level 4 shuttle that gave fans a taste of the benefits of self-driving transport.
And it’s hoped that the pilot, which marked the Guangzhou company’s entry into the European market, will act as a launch pad for its expansion across the continent.
On a daily basis throughout the tournament, the WeRide Robobus has ferried fans in Paris from a parking lot in the vicinity of Roland-Garros to the stadium itself, and then back again at the end of play.
The entire shuttle route is approximately three miles long and takes about 12 minutes, and the shuttle has been operating in daylight hours, between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
WeRide describes the vehicle as the world’s first pre-designed autonomous driving robobus that is commercially deployed on a large scale, and it has already seen service in 30 cities across seven countries, including in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East, plus Singapore.
The bus is fitted with WeRide’s full-stack, self-developed autonomous driving software and hardware system and is considered the company’s flagship product as it targets further expansion.
Founder and CEO Tony Han explained: “We are very grateful for the strong support from our strategic investor, Renault Group. Launching the Robobus shuttle service at Roland-Garros marks the first step in our joint effort with Renault Group to promote low-carbon public transportation with autonomous driving.