Uber and Chinese autonomous vehicle startup Momenta said they will begin testing robotaxis in Munich, Germany in 2026, making it the first publicly announced city in continental Europe for either company’s autonomous driving program. The launch is part of a partnership first unveiled in May 2025 and positions Uber to compete in Europe’s growing robotaxi market.
The pilot program in Munich will start with human safety operators onboard to oversee vehicle operations and intervene if necessary, Uber said. “Germany has shaped the global automotive industry for more than a century, and now Munich will help shape the future with autonomous vehicles,” Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s CEO, said in a statement.
Momenta, founded in 2016 and considered one of China’s leading autonomous vehicle firms, has been testing self-driving cars domestically since 2018. The Beijing-based startup operates a service in Shanghai and plans a wider commercial rollout with safety operators by the end of this year. Its advanced driver-assistance systems are already installed on more than 400,000 vehicles sold through partnerships with automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi.
The Munich trials mark Uber’s first European deployment of Momenta-powered vehicles, expanding the ride-hailing company’s global network of over 20 AV partners. Uber already offers Waymo’s robotaxis on its app in several U.S. cities, including Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco, while internationally it has teamed up with firms such as WeRide in the Middle East and Wayve in the UK.
Competition in Europe’s autonomous vehicle market is heating up. In August, Lyft announced a partnership with Baidu to deploy robotaxis across Germany and the UK starting in 2026. Meanwhile, Uber and Momenta’s rollout in Munich will require regulatory approval, including certification of safety standards and approval of designated operating zones.
The companies have not disclosed when the certification process in Germany will begin. If successful, the launch would mark Momenta’s first robotaxi deployment in Europe, potentially paving the way for expansion into other markets.
In the U.S., Uber is also widening its network of partners. Autonomous technology firm Avride announced on Thursday it is expanding vehicle testing in Dallas in preparation for launching a robotaxi service on Uber’s platform. Separately, Lucid confirmed it has secured a $300 million investment from Uber to develop a next-generation premium robotaxi program. That project, announced in July, will use Lucid’s EV technology and the Nuro Driver™ Level 4 autonomy system. Vehicles will be built in Arizona, with the first rollout planned in a major U.S. city next year.