Uber, Lyft partner with Baidu for 2026 robotaxi trials in Britain

LONDON – Uber and Lyft said on Dec 22 they are teaming up with Chinese tech giant Baidu to launch driverless taxi trials
in Britain in 2026, reinforcing the country’s role as Europe’s leading test bed for commercialising robotaxis.

As part of the partnerships, Baidu’s Apollo Go RT6 vehicles will join the London networks of the ride-hailing platforms in 2026, marking the first direct competition between American and Chinese autonomous giants in a European capital. This follows Alphabet-owned Waymo’s recent start of supervised tests in London.

Britain’s emergence as a global sandbox is fuelled by the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, which provides a legal framework for liability that currently eludes the more fragmented European Union.

The law shifts legal responsibility for incidents from the person in the car to the “authorised self-driving entity”.

London-based start-up Wayve is also preparing to launch driverless trials in 2026, leveraging a roughly US$1 billion (S$1.29 billion) investment
led by SoftBank Group and Uber, as it tests its “mapless” AI technology on London’s complex urban streets alongside its global rivals.

This momentum mirrors a broader global surge as Baidu and WeRide expand operations into the Middle East and Switzerland. Cities such as Austin, San Francisco, Abu Dhabi and Wuhan, China, have become major hubs for robotaxi operations.

Robotaxis promise safer, greener and more cost-efficient rides, but profitability remains uncertain.

Public companies such as Pony.ai and WeRide are still loss-making, and analysts warn that the high cost of autonomous fleets could pressure margins for platforms such as Uber and Lyft.

Analysts have said hybrid networks, mixing robotaxis with human drivers, may be the most viable model to manage demand peaks and pricing.

For Lyft, the British trial serves as a cornerstone of its international expansion following its US$200 million acquisition of the European taxi app FreeNow in 2025. REUTERS