WeRide and Grab have secured approval to test the full Ai.R autonomous vehicle fleet in Punggol, while ADIO and DiDi Autonomous Driving are partnering to accelerate smart mobility in the Middle East.
WeRide, Grab to flag off AV testing in Singapore’s Punggol
Global autonomous driving technology company WeRide and Southeast Asia’s superapp Grab have announced that Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has granted them approval to conduct autonomous vehicle (AV) testing with the entire Ai.R fleet within the Punggol district.
The partners commenced Punggol’s first AV testing in mid-October 2025. With this approval, WeRide and Grab will be stepping up their AV testing programme in the district, and plan to increase the total number of AV test runs on its shuttle service routes in Punggol by up to four times by the end of the year.
Ai.R is a public autonomous ride service. The Ai.R fleet comprises 11 AVs–10 GXRs (five passenger seats) and one Robobus (eight passenger seats).
The AV test runs are critical to preparations for the launch of Ai.R, which will serve two dedicated shuttle service routes in Punggol, establishing the district as Singapore’s first residential neighbourhood with an autonomous shuttle service. Ai.R is expected to take its first batch of public passengers by early 2026.
ADIO, DiDi Autonomous to push smart mobility in Middle East
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has formed a strategic partnership with DiDi Autonomous Driving, a subsidiary of global smart mobility technology platform DiDi Global Inc, to accelerate the development of the Emirate’s Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industries (SAVI) cluster.
As part of the collaboration, DiDi Autonomous Driving will join Abu Dhabi’s SAVI cluster in the UAE. ADIO and DiDi Autonomous Driving will engage in developing areas such as autonomous driving technology innovation and application, AI talent development, and ecosystem building.
Together, they aim to transform Abu Dhabi into a leading smart mobility and sustainable transportation ecosystem while gradually expanding this cooperation to the broader Middle-East region.
The arrival of DiDi Autonomous Driving further strengthens the SAVI cluster, which is expected to contribute 44 billion dirham to Abu Dhabi’s GDP and create up to 40,000 jobs by 2045, generating substantial economic value for Abu Dhabi by fostering advanced industries and high-skilled employment.
