Baidu will partner with U.S. ride-hailing companies Uber Technologies and Lyft to begin testing autonomous taxis in the UK, as global competition intensifies in the commercial rollout of self-driving vehicles.
Uber said on Monday it will work with Baidu’s autonomous driving unit Apollo Go to launch a pilot robotaxi programme in London, with on-road testing expected to start in the first half of 2026. The announcement marks the first confirmed UK trial involving Baidu’s self-driving fleet.
“We’re excited to accelerate Britain’s leadership in the future of mobility, bringing another safe and reliable travel option to Londoners next year,” Uber said in a post on X.
Lyft Chief Executive David Risher said separately that Lyft will also collaborate with Baidu to introduce autonomous vehicles in London, adding that the UK capital will be among the first locations in the region to host Apollo Go robotaxis. The company plans to begin with several dozen vehicles operating through the Lyft and Freenow networks, before scaling up to hundreds over time.
The London trials will use Baidu’s all-electric RT6 robotaxi, a model designed specifically for ride-hailing applications, Lyft said. Initial deployments under the Lyft partnership are planned for both the UK and Germany in 2026, according to an earlier company statement.
Baidu said it is the world’s largest autonomous vehicle operator by scale, having provided more than 17 million shared robotaxi rides across 22 cities globally. The company has logged more than 240 million kilometres of autonomous driving, including over 140 million kilometres in fully driverless mode.
The UK testing follows earlier announcements by Baidu in July and August outlining separate partnerships with Uber and Lyft to deploy robotaxis in international markets, signalling a coordinated push beyond China.
Chinese autonomous driving companies are increasingly expanding overseas. Pony AI said last month it would partner with Estonian ride-hailing firm Bolt to integrate driverless vehicles into European taxi services. Meanwhile, WeRide has expanded in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, launching public robotaxi operations in Dubai this month in partnership with Uber.