Uber and Lyft to test Baidu robotaxis in London in 2026

The ride-hailing market in London is set to become a testing ground for autonomous vehicle technology. Uber and Lyft will begin testing Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxis in London in 2026, bringing the Chinese technology company’s autonomous vehicle service to the city. For Uber, the upcoming trials are part of a deal with Baidu, which serves as a provider of robotaxi technology. The two companies originally announced their deal in July. Uber has stated that it expects to start testing the vehicles in the first half of 2026, establishing a timeline for its autonomous vehicle efforts in London.

Lyft is pursuing a similar path to deploy autonomous vehicles in London, though its testing remains subject to regulatory clearance. David Risher, the CEO of Lyft, announced on X and LinkedIn that Lyft will start testing the vehicles once it receives local regulatory approval. According to Risher, the company “plans to scale to hundreds” of Baidu’s electric RT6 SUVs once those approvals are secured. The RT6 is Baidu’s electric SUV model. However, the chief executive did not lay out a timeline for when a commercial service would launch.

The expansion of Uber and Lyft’s autonomous testing will place them alongside other operators in the local market. By introducing Baidu’s vehicles, the ride-hailing companies will join Waymo, an existing robotaxi operator in London, and Wayve, a local startup operating autonomous vehicles in the city. The twin London rollouts are the latest in a series of robotaxi tie-ups that have seen Uber and Lyft strike deals with Baidu, Waymo, and other partners. These agreements allow the ride-hailing companies to stand up autonomous operations in cities around the world by leveraging external technology providers.

Why it matters

These London rollouts are part of a wider trend where ride-hailing companies are striking partnerships with autonomous technology providers like Baidu and Waymo to establish operations in cities around the world.