Spain issues permit to allow autonomous vehicle testing, Uber says

MADRID, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Spanish authorities have issued the first national permits to allow the testing of WeRide autonomous vehicles on public roads, Uber Technologies and WeRide said on Thursday.

It said commercial services were planned by the end of the year in Madrid, subject to operational and regulatory milestones.

• Spain's Directorate-General for Traffic issued the permit and authorised preparation activities, including mapping, route validation and operational readiness testing, Uber said in a statement.

• It said the authorisation is the first national approval for WeRide's GXR vehicle in the European Union.

• The Madrid service would be WeRide and Uber's first joint autonomous vehicle deployment in Europe.

• Chinese company WeRide will provide autonomous driving technology and Uber will provide the ride-hailing app.

• AVOMO, the autonomous vehicle division of Spain's Moove Cars Group, will manage fleet operations, Uber said.

• WeRide and Uber plan to deploy tens of thousands of autonomous vehicles under a global partnership covering 15 cities by 2030.

• Earlier this month, Uber launched autonomous rides in London, making London its second European robotaxi market after Zagreb.

• Spain's Directorate-General for Traffic did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside normal business hours.

(Reporting by Benjamín Mejías Valencia; editing by Charlie Devereux and Barbara Lewis)