Chasing L5: WeRide CEO sees ‘ChatGPT moment’ in driverless cars within 10 years

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The global commercial robotaxi fleet was estimated to be 7,000 vehicles in 2025, and is expected to surge to about 6 million by 2035

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Themis QiPublished: 4:00pm, 5 May 2026

WeRide boss Tony Han Xu believes the first fully autonomous cars may arrive on streets by 2035, as global carmakers and tech firms accelerate the application of self-driving technologies despite roadblocks.

The latest setback came when Chinese regulators stepped in after an incident in Wuhan on March 31. Authorities scaled back the issuance of new autonomous driving licences after a system failure on March 31 involving Baidu’s Apollo Go fleet, which left passengers stranded and disrupted traffic for hours.

A vehicle capable of full automation is known as Level 5 (L5), according to a set of standards published by SAE International in 2014.

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Referring to L5 as “Super Drive”, Han, co-founder, chairman and CEO of WeRide, said its reality was not far off.

“I think within 10 years, we will achieve ‘Super Drive’,” Han said in an interview with the South China Morning Post. “That means a car can drive anywhere better than a human being.”

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There are six automation levels, ranging from L0 where the car is completely controlled by a driver, to L5 where a vehicle can operate anytime, anywhere and under any weather without human intervention.

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