WeRide Inc. (NASDAQ: WRD) saw its stock surge 5.09% in pre-market trading on Wednesday, following a series of positive announcements that have bolstered investor confidence in the autonomous driving technology company.

The company reported its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2025, revealing a total revenue of RMB72.4 million (US$10.0 million), marking a 1.8% increase from the same period in 2024. Notably, revenue from the robotaxi business reached RMB16.1 million (US$2.2 million), contributing 22.3% to the company's total revenue, up 10.4 percentage points compared to Q1 2024. The company's gross profit margin remained stable at 35%.

In a move to enhance shareholder value, WeRide announced a share repurchase program, authorizing the buyback of up to US$100 million worth of its Class A ordinary shares over the next 12 months. This initiative, coupled with the company's expanding global footprint, has sparked investor interest. WeRide and Uber have announced a significant expansion of their strategic partnership to include 15 additional cities within the next five years. As part of this expanded partnership, Uber has committed to an additional equity investment of US$100 million in WeRide, further solidifying the collaboration and potentially accelerating WeRide's global commercialization efforts.

The company's recent regulatory approvals for commercial deployments in both domestic and international markets, including the launch of fully driverless robotaxi testing in Abu Dhabi and expanded operations in Guangzhou, China, have also contributed to the positive market sentiment. These developments, along with WeRide's continuous advancement of its Universal Autonomous Vehicle Platform, WeRide One, position the company for potential growth in the rapidly evolving autonomous driving sector.