Baidu's Robotaxis Are Coming to London, Teaming Up with Uber and Lyft to Challenge Waymo
China's Baidu is partnering with Uber and Lyft to launch its Apollo Go autonomous robotaxis in London in 2026, heating up competition with Alphabet's Waymo in the UK market.
Key Points
Chinese tech giant Baidu is bringing its Apollo Go robotaxis to London, announcing landmark partnerships with Uber and Lyft that will put its autonomous vehicles on the city's streets starting in 2026. The move positions the UK as a key battleground in the global race for autonomous vehicle dominance, pitting Baidu directly against U.S. rival Waymo.
The collaborations, announced on the companies' respective social media accounts, will integrate Baidu's self-driving cars into the Uber and Lyft ride-hailing platforms. Lyft's testing will begin in 2026 with an initial fleet of "dozens of vehicles," pending regulatory approval, "with plans to scale to hundreds from there," said Lyft CEO David Risher in a social media post.
Meanwhile, Uber confirmed its first pilot is expected to launch 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," the company stated.
London Emerges as the New AV Frontier
Baidu's entry highlights the UK's growing importance as a hub for driverless technology. This follows the government's announcement in June 2024 to accelerate its plans for allowing AVs on public roads. The government now aims to begin permitting small-scale robotaxi pilots starting in spring 2026, a timeline Baidu is clearly aiming to meet.
The city of London itself has a strong incentive for adoption, having established a "Vision Zero" goal to eliminate all serious transportation-related injuries and deaths by 2041, with AV technology seen as a critical component.
The competitive heat is on. News of the Baidu pilots comes as its chief competitor, Alphabet's Waymo, also looks to begin testing in London with a full service launch planned for 2026. Baidu, for its part, is rapidly expanding its global footprint, which already includes 22 cities and over 250,000 weekly trips, as it races against both Chinese and Western rivals.
Baidu's London strategy isn't just about entering a new market; it's a major bet on a specific business model for scaling autonomous vehicles. By partnering with Uber and Lyft, Baidu is pursuing an "autonomy-as-a-service" approach, providing the core technology while leveraging the massive, existing user bases of ride-hailing giants. This directly challenges Waymo's vertically integrated model of controlling the vehicle, software, and customer-facing app. London, with its complex streets and supportive regulation, is now the prime testing ground to see which strategy will win the global AV race.
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