WeRide and Grab Achieve First Autonomous Vehicle Testing in Singapore’s Punggol District

• Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has granted WeRide and Grab approval for the entire Ai.R fleet to conduct autonomous vehicle (AV) testing within the Punggol district
• WeRide and Grab commenced the first AV testing in Punggol in mid-October 2025. With this approval, the two companies will be stepping up their AV testing programme there, and now 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
• Concurrently, the first cohort of Ai.R Safety Operator trainees have progressed to on-the-road training, marking another step in building up local talent for AV operations
  

SINGAPORE, Nov. 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD, HKEX: 0800.HK), a global leader in autonomous driving technology, and Grab (NASDAQ: GRAB), Southeast Asia’s leading superapp, announced that Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has granted them approval to conduct autonomous vehicle (AV) testing with the entire Ai.R (Autonomously Intelligent Ride) 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 there, and now 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, which is operated by Grab in partnership with WeRide, 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.

One of the Ai.R AVs – a WeRide GXR – in Punggol. During the test run, the AV studies its route and operating environment, including the road infrastructure, traffic flows, as well as road user and pedestrian behaviours

Throughout the AV testing and initial phase of public rides, Safety Operators will be onboard the AVs at all times, providing real-time supervision.

The autonomous shuttle service in Punggol will connect residents to key amenities like Punggol Coast MRT station, Punggol Coast Mall bus interchange, malls, and clinics.