UBER Launches Robotaxis in Abu Dhabi: Growth Story Strengthening?

Uber Technologies UBER, along with WeRide WRD, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company, launched a commercial robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi. The rollout is the first commercial driverless robotaxi offering in the Middle East. In the United States, Uber already provides robotaxi access in Austin, Phoenix and Atlanta via Alphabet’s GOOGL Waymo network. Alphabet’s Waymo is a force to be reckoned with in the evolving and lucrative space. Alphabet, through its Waymo arm, already has commercial operations in several cities across the United States.

Following the launch in Abu Dhabi, customers requesting UberX or Uber Comfort may be assigned a WeRide autonomous vehicle. The initial operating phase will be delivered jointly by WeRide and local fleet operator Tawasul, in partnership with Abu Dhabi’s Integrated Transport Centre, which oversees transport regulation and deployment in the emirate.

The commercial driverless launch follows a sequence of approvals in 2025. In October, WeRide obtained a federal permit allowing it to run fully driverless robotaxi commercial services across the UAE. Building on that, the ITC issued WeRide and Tawasul the first operational license for an unmanned robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi, enabling the current launch on the Uber app. With the staff-free model now live and vehicle utilization improving, WeRide and Uber expect the Abu Dhabi fleet to progress toward breakeven unit economics.

This step also supports Uber and WeRide’s longer-term Middle East expansion strategy. WeRide and Uber plan to scale their regional partnership to thousands of robotaxis over the coming years. WeRide and Uber first introduced their robotaxi ride-hailing partnership in Abu Dhabi in December 2024. They expanded their footprint in July to cover about half of Abu Dhabi’s core areas, with additional city-center zones slated for rollout by the end of 2025.

For Uber, this deployment strengthens its position as a global marketplace for autonomous transportation. Driverless supply can reduce long-term trip costs, improve reliability during peak demand and offer a repeatable model for integrating more AV partners in new cities, expanding Uber’s reach. The launch in Abu Dhabi is a step toward turning robotaxis from a futuristic concept into a global transportation reality.

Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of UBER have gained 19.6%  in a year compared with the Zacks Internet-Services industry’s 81.1% growth in the same timeframe.

1-Year Price Comparison

From a valuation standpoint, UBER trades at a 12-month forward price-to-sales of 3X. UBER is inexpensive compared with its industry.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UBER’s fourth-quarter 2025, first-quarter 2026, full-year 2025 and 2026 earnings have moved north over the past 60 days.

UBER's Zacks Rank

UBER currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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