WeRide Inc. (Nasdaq: WRD; HKEX: 0800) reported unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. Total revenue rose to RMB114.1 million (US$16.5 million), up 57.6% year over year, driven by growth in both product and service revenue.
First-quarter financial highlights
- Total revenue: RMB114.1 million (US$16.5 million), up 57.6% year over year.
- Product revenue: RMB20.5 million (US$3.0 million), up 115.8% year over year, primarily from robotaxi and other L4 vehicle sales.
- Service revenue: RMB93.7 million (US$13.6 million), up 49.0% year over year.
- Gross profit: RMB39.6 million (US$5.7 million), up 55.9% year over year; gross margin: 34.7%.
- R&D expenses: RMB363.3 million (US$52.7 million), up 11.5% year over year.
- Operating loss: RMB431.0 million (US$62.5 million), narrowing 1.2% year over year.
Robotaxi fleet expansion and operating momentum
As of April 30, 2026, WeRide’s global robotaxi fleet reached approximately 1,300 vehicles. The company said continued fleet expansion and broader operational design domain (ODD) coverage helped advance commercialization in China and improve service accessibility.
China
- China robotaxi fleet: approximately 1,000 vehicles as of April 30, 2026.
- Orders per vehicle: average daily orders per vehicle exceeded 17 in the first quarter of 2026 and rose to 28 during peak periods.
- Registered users: approximately doubled year over year as of quarter-end.
- City expansion plan: WeRide plans to expand robotaxi service into one more Tier 1 city in 2026.
International
- Singapore: public operations in Punggol began April 1, 2026 with Grab; since the January 2026 trial phase, the service accumulated over 30,000 kilometers of autonomous driving mileage.
- Dubai: WeRide commenced operation of Dubai’s first fully driverless commercial robotaxi service in partnership with Uber and the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in April 2026. Services in Abu Dhabi cover approximately 70% of the city’s core areas; the company plans to deploy 1,200 robotaxis across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh by 2027.
- Europe (Slovakia): in March 2026, WeRide launched Slovakia’s first autonomous driving program through a partnership with ELEVATE Slovakia, entering its fourth European market after France, Belgium and Switzerland.
Other autonomous applications and technology development
- WRD 3.0 competition achievement: WeRide Driving (WRD 3.0) became the first and only solution to win four consecutive championships in the China Urban Intelligent Driving Competition.
- ADAS commercialization and OEM adoption: GAC Aion launched the Aion N60 in April 2026, its first mass-produced passenger vehicle jointly developed with WeRide. WeRide said WRD 3.0 has secured production design wins across nearly 30 vehicle models and plans international expansion with partners including Tiggo, Lepas, Omoda and JAECOO.
- Robobus deployments: WeRide said Zurich airport received approval to remove the front-seat safety driver; in Geneva, it began collaborating with TPG to deploy its first robobus units; in France, it will operate its Robobus shuttle service with Renault at the Roland Garros French Open for the third consecutive year.
- Global AV fleet: as of April 30, 2026, the company’s global AV fleet (robotaxis, robobuses, robovans and robosweepers) expanded to approximately 2,800 vehicles.
Technology and partnerships
- WeRide GENESIS: described as improving long-tail corner-case data collection, generation and training efficiency by “thousands of times” versus traditional road testing, supporting applications from Level 2++ ADAS to Level 4 robotaxis.
- Multi-chip compatibility: WRD 3.0 achieved multi-chip compatibility across NVIDIA DRIVE, Qualcomm Snapdragon and SiEngine StarLight platforms.
- SiEngine partnership: WeRide signed a strategic partnership agreement in April 2026 to deepen “chip + algorithm” integration and accelerate large-scale deployment of L2++ ADAS solutions.
Management commentary
Tony Han, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said the first quarter reflected continued progress in autonomous driving technology and global deployment, with WeRide GENESIS at the center of the company’s momentum. He noted that the China robotaxi fleet grew to approximately 1,000 vehicles and registered users approximately doubled year over year.
Jennifer Li, Chief Financial Officer and Head of International, said first-quarter revenue of US$16.5 million was up 58% year over year, driven by 116% product revenue growth. She added that gross margin remained at about 35% and operating loss continued to narrow despite sustained R&D investment.
Detailed first-quarter 2026 results
Revenue
- Total revenue increased 57.6% year over year to RMB114.1 million (US$16.5 million), compared with RMB72.4 million in the first quarter of 2025.
- Product revenue rose 115.8% year over year to RMB20.5 million (US$3.0 million), from RMB9.5 million in the first quarter of 2025.
- Service revenue increased 49.0% year over year to RMB93.7 million (US$13.6 million), from RMB62.9 million in the first quarter of 2025.
Costs, gross profit and operating expenses
- Cost of revenue: RMB74.5 million (US$10.8 million), up from RMB47.1 million in the first quarter of 2025.
- Gross profit: RMB39.6 million (US$5.7 million), up from RMB25.4 million in the first quarter of 2025; gross margin: 34.7% versus 35.0%.
- Operating expenses: RMB469.1 million (US$68.0 million), compared with RMB463.5 million in the first quarter of 2025.
- R&D expenses: RMB363.3 million (US$52.7 million), up from RMB325.7 million.
- Administrative expenses: RMB83.1 million (US$12.0 million), down from RMB123.9 million.
- Selling expenses: RMB22.7 million (US$3.3 million), up from RMB13.9 million.
Net loss
- Net loss: RMB389.1 million (US$56.4 million), compared with RMB385.1 million in the first quarter of 2025.
- Non-IFRS adjusted net loss: RMB326.2 million (US$47.3 million), compared with RMB294.6 million in the first quarter of 2025.
- Net loss per ADS: RMB1.14 (US$0.18) basic and diluted, compared with RMB1.38 in the first quarter of 2025.
Balance sheet and liquidity
As of March 31, 2026, WeRide held RMB6,177.8 million (US$895.6 million) in cash and cash equivalents and time deposits, RMB28.9 million (US$4.2 million) in investments in wealth management products included in financial assets at fair value through profit and loss and financial assets at amortized costs, and RMB18.0 million (US$2.6 million) in restricted cash, for an aggregate amount of RMB6,224.7 million (US$902.4 million).
Exchange rate and non-IFRS measures
The announcement states that certain Renminbi amounts were translated into U.S. dollars at RMB6.8980 to US$1.00 as of March 31, 2026 for convenience. It also notes that adjusted net loss is defined as net loss excluding share-based compensation expenses and fair value changes of financial assets at FVTPL.
