Baidu’s Chinese giant plans to launch his robotaxis in the American shared travel application Lyft in Germany and Great Britain in 2026, subject to regulatory approval, the two companies said on Monday, August 4.
Last month, Baidu announced a similar agreement with the Uber company in Asia and the Middle East, seeking to take a position in the field of autonomous driving, both at the local level and abroad.
An unknown period to obtain the regulatory green light
Lyft and Baidu said Monday that “in the coming years,” the Apollo Go Cars Autonomuses fleet, the Baidu Robotaxis service, will extend to thousands of vehicles throughout Europe.
The two companies did not specify in which other countries cars would be implemented, I could have the regulatory approval for the initial implementation.
The vehicle used could be the Apollo RT6, presented in 2022, with a retractable steering wheel and an architecture designed for these autonomous taxi services. Its sliding side doors allow in particular to facilitate the entrance to passengers
The driver’s taxis are already present on certain roads with a limited capacity in the United States and China, especially in the city of Wuhan, where you can call a fleet of more than 500 vehicles through an application in designated areas.
Its scope is spreading. Pudong, the Shanghai Financial District, recently announced a part of the license to operate robotaxis for several companies.
Chinese technology companies and manufacturers have invested billions of dollars in autonomous driving in recent years, intelligent driving becoming the new highly competitive market battlefield for cars in the country.
Numerous competitors in robotaxis
Baidu is not the only one among Chinese companies that seeks to extend their presence abroad.
His rival Weride is also active in Gulf countries, and in January, he announced that he was chosen to direct a small pilot project in Switzerland.
Pony.ai, another Chinese company, said in May that he had signed an agreement to launch its autonomous taxis through the Uber platform in “a key market in the Middle East at the end of this year.”
In April, Lyft, based in San Francisco, said he agreed to buy the German application of Taxis Freeow, marking its entry into the European market.
The acquisition marks the “most significant expansion of Lyft out of North America,” said the company.
Tesla also feeds great ambitions in this area and launched its “Robotaxi” service in Austin (Texas) last June.
Source: BFM TV
