WeRide says it has become the first and only company authorized to road test autonomous logistics vehicles in Huangpu, Guangzhou, after securing the district's inaugural permit for its Robovan W5.

This marks the Robovan W5's second active road testing permit, following an earlier approval in Guangzhou's Nansha District in April. The company says it demonstrates WeRide's steady progress ‘towards the large-scale commercialization of autonomous delivery solutions’.

On June 6, Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District jointly introduced a strategic policy framework to accelerate the development of intelligent connected and new energy vehicles. The framework outlines plans to support large-scale deployment of autonomous technologies across sectors such as ride-hailing, sanitation, and smart logistics. Less than a month later, WeRide received approval to begin full-area testing of its Robovan W5 in Huangpu.

The Robovan W5 is purpose-built for high-frequency urban logistics, WeRide says. It offers cargo volume in its class at 5.5m³, a maximum payload of 1,000kg, and a driving range of up to 220km.

The company also says its modular cargo compartments support various slot configurations, making it ‘highly adaptable to diverse use cases such as express delivery, neighborhood drop-offs, and personalized point-to-point logistics — delivering an all-in-one solution for multi-scenario urban deliveries’.

WeRide says the W5 is equipped with Level-4 autonomous driving technology and WeRide’s proprietary redundant sensor suite. It also features a redundant drive-by-wire chassis, emergency braking and collision warning systems, real-time driving status monitoring, and a cloud-based control platform, ‘ensuring robust and reliable safety during each delivery’.