- Uber and Lyft both announced today they will partner with Baidu to test robotaxis in the UK, starting with London.
- The tests are expected to commence in 2026.
Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) will partner with US ride-hailing giants Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) and Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) to begin testing robotaxis in the UK, as players in the sector deploy the service globally.
Uber announced today it will collaborate with Baidu's Apollo Go to launch a pilot program for autonomous vehicles in London, with testing expected to commence in the first half of 2026.
"We’re excited to accelerate Britain's leadership in the future of mobility, bringing another safe and reliable travel option to Londoners next year," Uber's official account said on social media platform X.
Lyft CEO David Risher subsequently also announced on X that it and Baidu will introduce autonomous vehicles to London, making London passengers among the first in the region to experience Baidu's Apollo Go self-driving cars.
The company expects to begin testing the first few dozen autonomous vehicles through the Lyft and Freenow ecosystem next year, with plans to gradually scale up to hundreds.
The testing will utilize the all-electric RT6 model, specifically designed for ride-sharing, Lyft said.
Baidu is the world's largest autonomous vehicle operator, having completed over 17 million shared rides across 22 cities globally, Lyft noted on X.
Baidu has accumulated over 240 million kilometers of autonomous driving, with more than 140 million kilometers driven in fully driverless mode, the company noted.
Baidu announced partnerships with Uber and Lyft in July and August respectively to jointly deploy robotaxis in international markets.
The initial deployment with Lyft is planned for Germany and the UK in 2026, according to an August 2024 statement.
Chinese autonomous driving solution providers are actively expanding overseas. Pony AI (NASDAQ: PONY) announced last month a partnership with Estonian ride-hailing firm Bolt to integrate driverless vehicles into Bolt's European taxi services.
WeRide (NASDAQ: WRD) is advancing its operations in markets including the Middle East and Southeast Asia, having launched public robotaxi operations in Dubai earlier this month in partnership with Uber.
