Chinese language robotaxis are on account of be on the streets of London subsequent 12 months after the US ride-hailing corporations Lyft and Uber introduced tie-ups with Beijing-based Baidu to deploy its self-driving expertise.
Lyft is the third agency to announce plans to introduce self-driving taxis to the UK capital subsequent 12 months, after Uber and Waymo, the principle operator of robotaxis within the US.
Its ride-hailing companies are the most important rival to Uber’s within the US and Canada, and this 12 months Lyft expanded into Europe after buying the Freenow app in the summertime.
Whereas Uber had signed a deal to work with Baidu in the summertime in different world markets, it had not till now stated that the Chinese language tech firm’s Apollo Go vehicles have been deliberate for London. It had beforehand introduced its companies could be operated with self-driving expertise from the UK-US agency Wayve.
Lyft stated it deliberate to begin assessments with dozens of self-driving Apollo Go vehicles in London in 2026.
Information that the Chinese language expertise firm may be the driving pressure behind London’s autonomous trials subsequent 12 months heightened considerations in some quarters, after warnings that even regular electrical automobiles might be used for spying functions.
Safety specialists warned that Chinese language expertise dominating the market may enhance Britain’s vulnerability. Charles Parton, an affiliate fellow on the defence thinktank Rusi, stated the transfer posed further dangers to nationwide safety, from Beijing exploiting UK dependency on their expertise, to harvesting huge quantities of knowledge, and probably even straight controlling the methods.
He stated: “The issue is the connectivity of those automobiles. If the Chinese language get a monopoly we’re in hassle, and that is one other step to them doing this.
“In instances of rigidity or warfare they may flip issues off … you’re mainly permitting them to show off, stall or crash all of the taxis in London, and trigger gridlock.”
Baidu’s Apollo Go is Asia’s chief in autonomous ride-hailing, working in 22 cities and offering about 250,000 absolutely driverless rides every week.
David Risher, the chief govt of Lyft, stated that Baidu’s RT6 electrical automobiles have been purpose-built for rideshare and “targeted on giving individuals a dependable, high-comfort trip”.
He stated its imaginative and prescient for the UK was for a “hybrid community” of autonomous automobiles and human drivers “working collectively to serve London’s various transportation wants now and past – from late-night journeys residence to Heathrow rides, to early commutes throughout city, and every little thing in between”.
He stated the corporate was dedicated to working intently with Transport for London and native authorities “to make sure these automobiles improve London’s transportation ecosystem”.
Uber introduced its personal plans to make use of Baidu’s autonomous automobiles in London with a put up on X. It stated: “Testing is predicted to begin within the first half of 2026, below the UK’s frontier plan to start trials for self-driving automobiles. We’re excited to speed up Britain’s management in the way forward for mobility, bringing one other protected and dependable journey choice to Londoners subsequent 12 months.”
An Uber spokesperson confirmed the Baidu trials could be along with these with Wayve.
The race to convey robotaxis to London has been pushed by the UK authorities, which is seeking to go legal guidelines to swiftly open up Britain as a European frontrunner in driverless expertise.
The announcement by Waymo in October fuelled specific curiosity, with the corporate’s robotaxis now nicely established in San Francisco and increasing to different US cities together with Austin, Texas.
A serious energy outage in San Francisco this weekend led to site visitors jams brought on by stationary Waymo automobiles, including contemporary considerations to official scrutiny of the reliability of the expertise.
