Overview
- Rising regional tensions linked to Iran’s response to a US–Israel attack have triggered safety-driven pauses, remote work and contingency reviews across Chinese autonomous-vehicle operators in the Gulf.
- WeRide has suspended its robotaxi fleet in Dubai while maintaining regular commercial service in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, with employees in the region working from home and limiting non-essential travel.
- Baidu’s Apollo Go briefly halted Abu Dhabi service before resuming under local guidance, and its robotaxi testing programme in Dubai remains temporarily suspended.
- Pony.ai stopped on-road testing in Doha and Dubai, has restarted testing in Doha, and says Dubai trials will resume at an appropriate time.
- The Gulf remains a priority for these companies, with stated government targets including Dubai’s goal for 25% driverless trips by 2030, Abu Dhabi’s 25% by 2040 and Saudi Arabia’s 15% by 2030.