- The initial deployment is planned for 2026 in Germany and the UK, with the fleet size expanding to thousands of vehicles across Europe in the coming years.
- Baidu and Uber announced a partnership last month to deploy robotaxis, initially in Asia and the Middle East.
(Image credit: Baidu)
Baidu has partnered with US ride-hailing company Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) to deploy robotaxis in Europe, following last month’s announcement of its partnership with Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER).
Lyft will deploy Baidu Apollo Go autonomous vehicles (AVs) in major European markets through its platform, marking a milestone in Baidu’s international expansion, the Chinese tech giant said in a statement today.
The initial deployment is planned for 2026 in Germany and the UK, with the fleet size expanding to thousands of vehicles across Europe in the coming years, pending regulatory approval.
As part of the agreement, Lyft will deploy Baidu Apollo Go’s sixth-generation vehicles as its pioneering autonomous solution in the region.
“Our partnership with Baidu is all about creating a great customer experience. Their extensive track record operating the world’s largest autonomous ride-hailing service means we can bring all the benefits of AVs — safety, reliability, and privacy — to millions of Europeans,” said David Risher, CEO of Lyft.
Baidu entered the autonomous driving technology sector in 2013, making it one of the first companies in China to do so.
As of May, Apollo Go had accumulated more than 11 million rides and expanded its service coverage to 15 cities, according to Baidu’s first quarter earnings report.
Baidu’s co-founder, chairman, and CEO Robin Li said in a financial report conference call on May 21 that Apollo Go’s global fleet of robotaxis had reached 1,000 vehicles.
On July 15, Baidu announced a multi-year strategic partnership with Uber to deploy thousands of Baidu Apollo Go robotaxis on Uber’s platform in multiple global markets outside the US and the Chinese mainland.
The first deployments are expected to take place later this year in Asia and the Middle East, using the sixth generation of Apollo Go robotaxis.
Lyft will serve as Baidu’s first ride-sharing partner in Europe, and the partnership is expected to rapidly expand the Apollo Go business in the region.
The ride-hailing giant announced last week that it had completed the acquisition of Freenow, one of Europe’s largest taxi-hailing apps, doubling Lyft’s addressable market to more than 300 billion personal vehicle trips per year.
Freenow operates in nine European countries and over 180 cities.
The first deployments are expected to take place later this year in Asia and the Middle East, using Apollo Go’s sixth-generation robotaxi.