UAE: Air taxis, self-driving cars, autonomous tech firms drive into Abu Dhabi's smart transport cluster

The world's leading air taxi company, a driverless solutions pioneer and an autonomous technology provider plan to join Abu Dhabi's Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industry (Savi) cluster, the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) announced.

Joby Aviation – a California-based company developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for commercial passenger service, plans to participate in the new high-tech cluster; WeRide – an autonomous technologies and services pioneer, is set to establish its regional headquarters; and Marakeb Technologies, a local autonomous systems provider, will become the first anchor company to develop maritime applications at Savi.

Badr Al-Olama, Director General of ADIO, underlined that the Savi cluster has been launched on an immediate scale and has attracted global companies and talent to promote innovative solutions that shape the future of the transportation and mobility sector.

"The next phase of Abu Dhabi's industrial development has arrived. The emirate's Savi cluster launches with immediate scale and will bring about a new wave of solutions in the field of autonomy across air, land and sea," Al-Olama said.

Centred in Masdar City, the cluster provides state-of-the-art facilities and value-added services within an enabling regulatory environment for companies developing advanced technologies across air, land, and sea mobility applications. To steer the future of smart and autonomous vehicle operations, ADIO is working with four regulators, including the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Integrated Transport Centre (ITC), and Abu Dhabi Maritime.

Joby Aviation, which plans to launch commercial passenger services using its piloted, five-seat aircraft in 2025, expects to establish a footprint in the cluster to support the maturation of technology that will enable it to fly its aircraft autonomously. This month, the company announced expanding its flight test programme to include flying with a pilot on board the aircraft.

ADIO will support Joby Aviation by connecting them with relevant partners across the Abu Dhabi ecosystem, including regulators, relevant government departments, and potential investors.

JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, noted: “We welcome the opportunity to participate in the Savi cluster and look forward to collaborating with the team at ADIO as we work towards our mission of delivering fast, quiet and convenient air taxi service in cities around the world.”

Meanwhile, driverless solutions leader WeRide will open a new office in Abu Dhabi, which will serve as the regional headquarters to transform autonomous driving technology into concrete industry applications and empower mobility and freight transport within the Emirate and beyond.

China’s WeRide will support Abu Dhabi’s ambitions in promoting the adoption of smart and autonomous vehicles worldwide, as it focuses on creating affordable and accessible solutions.

WeRide is a leading commercial-stage company that develops Level 4 autonomous driving technologies. In July, the UAE cabinet granted WeRide the first national licence for self-driving vehicles to run on the country’s roads.

Jennifer Li, CFO of WeRide, said: “We are delighted to join the new endeavour as part of the Savi cluster, which also marks an important milestone of our two-year robotaxi operation in the city. Our technologies and products centring on urban living fit well into Abu Dhabi’s ambition for autonomous mobility and logistics. Tapping onto our strategic partnership with ADIO and existing local presence, we are excited to further join forces with Abu Dhabi to promote AV commercialisation, expand operation areas and pave the way for the implementation of new AV policies and regulations.”

• UAE: Driverless race cars to battle it out during world's largest autonomous contest