Key Takeaways
- Leading autonomous driving companies like WeRide, Baidu, and Pony.ai continue to report losses.
- Experts predict that achieving profitability could take several more years, with some companies not expected to break even until 2029.
- Automotive groups are urging the Trump Administration to establish clear autonomous driving policies in the U.S. to maintain global competitiveness.
On Monday, Tony Han, founder of Chinese autonomous vehicle giant WeRide, said government regulation is key to achieving profitability in the self-driving industry as leading firms continue to hemorrhage millions in cash.
Han’s comments come as U.S. automakers warn that the Trump administration’s slowness in regulating the industry could lead to the country falling behind China.
Self-Driving Remains Unprofitable
Nvidia-backed WeRide has reported increasing losses over the past three years, reaching RMB 2.5 billion ($342 million) in 2024.
Major players in the autonomous vehicle market, including Baidu, Pony.ai, and Waymo, have also yet to report profits.
The high costs associated with self-driving software development, research, and maintenance create significant barriers to profitability.
Ramanarayan Vasudevan, an associate professor of robotics and mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, told MIT Technology Review that a robotaxi ride can be “several orders of magnitude more expensive than what it costs” traditional taxi companies.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think the technology will dramatically change in the coming year to really drive down that cost,” Vasudevan added.
Deutsche Bank analyst Bin Wang stated in January that Pony.ai may not be profitable until 2029.
Regulation Is Key
WeRide’s Han said autonomous driving requires significant investment, necessitating a “long process” to generate returns.
WeRide has launched robo-bus services in China, France, Singapore, and Switzerland and is conducting self-driving trials with Uber in Abu Dhabi.
The CEO said he is looking to expand into other markets but warned that uncertainty surrounding government regulation makes profitability timing “difficult to predict.”
“What I want in the next five years is that, first of all, this company can become profitable,” Han told the Financial Times.
“I think from a technology perspective, it will definitely support this within five years, but there are more commercial and policy considerations,” he added.
The profitability of WeRide depends on the speed at which international governments regulate driverless vehicles and how quickly automotive partners can integrate autonomous systems, Han told the publication.
U.S. Automakers Warn Losing Ground
The comments from Han follow U.S. automakers urging the Trump administration to speed up the deployment of self-driving cars in the country.
Leading automotive groups, including the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, wrote to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, calling for the government to increase its role as a regulator of the self-driving industry.
The groups also called for the U.S. Transportation Department to remove its requirement for human drivers to operate self-driving commercial motor vehicles.
“If the federal government fails to act to advance sensible AV policies, we will cede our leadership in this economically crucial sector to China,” the groups said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government has banned Chinese and Russian software and hardware in autonomous vehicles, citing concerns over potential espionage.
“Cars today have cameras, microphones, GPS tracking, and other technologies connected to the internet,” former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
“It doesn’t take much imagination to understand how a foreign adversary with access to this information could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the privacy of citizens,” Raimondo added.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
