Spain Grants Its First Level 4 Autonomous Vehicle Permit to WeRide and Uber

Madrid has become the first Spanish city to authorize Level 4 autonomous driving, with WeRide and Uber securing the country’s inaugural permit of this kind. The approval positions Spain’s capital alongside a select group of European cities that have taken concrete regulatory steps toward driverless mobility.

Level 4 autonomy allows vehicles to operate without human intervention within defined conditions, though a steering wheel and manual controls may still be present. Until now, no Spanish authority had granted a permit at this level, leaving the country behind peers like Germany and France in the race to formalize autonomous operations.

What sets Madrid apart is the regulatory commitment itself. Other European capitals have largely limited themselves to pilot programs or testing frameworks without committing to full Level 4 authorization. Spain’s move signals a willingness to move from experimentation into structured deployment.

The permit represents an early milestone rather than a finished rollout, but it gives WeRide and Uber a regulatory foothold in continental Europe that few competitors currently hold.