(SeaPRwire) – By: Oliver Hawthorne
Most L4 autonomous driving players can’t get past EU regulatory red tape. Many have spent a decade testing without moving to full commercial rollout. WeRide just got a full endorsement from the Slovak Prime Minister. This isn’t just another routine PR win for the AV firm. It exposes how far behind most global rivals really are.
On June 10, 2026, WeRide held a high-level meeting with Prime Minister Robert Fico in Bratislava. Slovakia’s transport minister and top transport ministry officials also attended. The meeting was hosted by WeRide’s local partner DiusAI, under ELEVATE Slovakia. The national initiative builds a safe, regulation-ready framework for autonomous mobility. WeRide’s first batch of L4 vehicles will arrive in Slovakia this month. Testing starts in Bratislava, then expands to Košice and the High Tatras region. The full portfolio covers mobility, public transport, logistics and sanitation. Selected models will enter public commercial operations in 2026. WeRide already runs active projects in four other European countries. It partners with Uber to launch Spain’s first commercial robotaxi later this year. It has operated robobuses at Roland-Garros for three consecutive years in France. It holds Switzerland’s first driverless robotaxi passenger permit. Its robobus runs without a safety driver at Zurich Airport.
AV expansion in Europe depends far more on regulatory buy-in than raw tech. WeRide’s multi-product, multi-country model lets it earn trust step by step. Each small commercial win opens doors to new national markets. Early revenue from multiple use cases funds continuous expansion. The gap between WeRide and its rivals will widen every year.
Author bio: Oliver Hawthorne, Principal Correspondent at an international tech review, covering global autonomous driving.