WeRide develops autonomous driving technology. Credit: WeRide.ai

Chinese autonomous driving technology developer WeRide has raised $200m from Yutong Group, the parent of bus maker Zhengzhou Yutong Bus.

However, WeRide did not disclose its valuation for this funding round.

Reuters reported that the two companies have agreed to co-develop self-driving buses.

In a statement, Guangzhou-based firm WeRide said that it would be developing autonomous minibuses, city buses and other commercial vehicles in collaboration with Yutong.

WeRide is supported by an alliance of automotive manufacturers, including Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi. It has created an autonomous minibus without a steering wheel, accelerator or brakes by partnering with Yutong.

Earlier this month, Amazon-owned autonomous mobility company Zoox also unveiled its fully functional electric autonomous purpose-built robotaxi, which did not feature a steering wheel.

The self-driving minibus created by WeRide is said to be larger than Zoox’s four-seat robotaxi and can accommodate ten passengers and can move at a speed of 40km/h on open roads.

WeRide is currently focusing on the development of a level 4 autonomous standard, where the vehicles will have the ability to manage all the aspects of driving in most of the scenarios without any human intervention.

In July, WeRide started testing its fully driverless cars to further advance the development of autonomous robotaxis.

According to a Reuters report, the company started the testing after it secured permission to test autonomous vehicles on designated open roads in Guangzhou, China.

The vehicles were connected with a remote centre, which controlled the self-driving unit under unusual traffic conditions.

In another development, Apple is reportedly focusing on self-driving car technology and intends to produce autonomous passenger vehicle by 2024.

People familiar with the development told Reuters that Apple’s new vehicle will be equipped with its own battery technology.

The company is said to have been focusing on autonomous car technologies since 2014 under Project Titan, where it started designing its own vehicle.