Chery to sign an L4 robotaxi agreement with Abu Dhabi's K2 as at least the third Chinese partner

The 2026 Chery International User Summit runs Oct 19-23 in Wuhu, China, where Chery Auto will sign a strategic cooperation agreement with UAE-based K2 and display its factory-integrated Level 4 Robotaxi, the company said on Oct 17. Chery says the Robotaxi was presented in April and calls the planned partnership "an initial step toward international commercial deployment".

Chery is at least the third Chinese robotaxi company to line up with K2, and the least proven of the three so far. Baidu's Apollo Go already runs fully driverless commercial rides on Yas Island with K2's AutoGo, after the two won one of Abu Dhabi's inaugural fully driverless commercial permits in November 2025. CaoCao, the Geely Holding Group-backed mobility platform, signed its own K2 agreement in June, with testing and validation due to start in Abu Dhabi this year and its first purpose-built robotaxi scheduled for mass production in 2027. Chery's release names no fleet size, deployment city, start date or financial terms.

The demo covers the whole trip, with no onboard driver

In Wuhu, Chery plans to demonstrate the full driverless passenger journey: booking in an app, cloud-based dispatch sending a Robotaxi to the pickup point, remote cabin-temperature adjustment before arrival, hazard lights that show the vehicle is ready for boarding, and one-tap door unlocking and trunk opening. More than 2,000 vehicle owners, journalists and partners are expected at the summit.

Chery describes the Robotaxi as engineered around L4 driverless operation from inception, with a six-part safety framework that includes "four-dimensional perception" combining tactile, visual, acoustic and wave-based sensing and "six-fold redundant execution safety". The vehicle is designed to run its own daily cycle of deployment, repositioning, energy replenishment, self-service cleaning and inspections, which the company says should cut fleet maintenance costs. According to Chery, the K2 agreement will support bringing the factory-integrated Robotaxi into commercial service overseas, and the company plans to expand its global Robotaxi operations.

Baidu's Apollo Go announced its K2 partnership in March 2025. It began public fully driverless service on Yas Island in January 2026, about 10 months later.