Uber, Lyft Partner with Baidu for London’s First Robotaxi Launch in 2026

The Chinese technology firm Baidu has confirmed plans to launch robotaxi trials in London through new partnerships with Uber and Lyft. These services are scheduled to begin operating in the British capital during the first half of twenty twenty six. This move comes as several Chinese autonomous driving companies accelerate their efforts to establish a presence in international markets.

Ride Hailing

The announcement was made via social media on Monday by both Baidu and Uber. The chief executive of Lyft, David Risher announced that the company will deploy a fleet of driverless vehicles once regulatory approval is obtained. People living in the city will be among the first in the region to travel in the Apollo Go vehicles developed by the Chinese firm. The Apollo Go RT6 are fully electric and have been designed specifically for the purpose of ride sharing. Risher noted that the vehicles are purpose built for the task of ride sharing within busy urban environments. Initial operations in the capital will involve dozens of cars although there are plans to increase the size of the fleet to hundreds of vehicles eventually.

According to SCMP, this latest development follows an earlier agreement reached in August between Baidu and Lyft to introduce autonomous transport services in both the United Kingdom and Germany. Furthermore the company recently reached a deal with Uber in July to roll out thousands of its Apollo Go vehicles in various locations outside of mainland China and the United States. At present the autonomous driving division of the firm operates across twenty two different cities and manages roughly two hundred and fifty thousand trips every week. The London deployment is expected to bolster the global presence of the Chinese firm which already spans many territories. Investors reacted positively to these announcements and the company saw its share price in Hong Kong rise by one point two six per cent to close at one hundred and twenty Hong Kong dollars and thirty cents.

Other competitors in the industry such as Pony.ai and WeRide are also seeking to grow their international operations through similar deals with Uber. These rival firms which are both based in Guangzhou are currently testing their technologies in various global markets including Europe and the Middle East. The chief financial officer of Pony.ai Leo Wang Haojun explained earlier this month that his company is focused on an asset light strategy. This approach involves working with various local and global partners to expand their fleet operations more effectively.

Pony.ai currently has agreements in place with eight different nations including Singapore and the United Arab Emirates as well as the United States and South Korea. Meanwhile the firm WeRide has established operations in more than thirty cities. Their reach extends to eight countries including Switzerland and Spain in Europe along with Japan and Singapore in Asia. The expansion of these various firms into the streets of London marks a significant point in the development of global autonomous transport networks.