Lyft Partners with Baidu to Launch Robotaxis Across Europe in Major Expansion Drive

Lyft has announced a landmark partnership with Chinese tech giant Baidu to launch autonomous robotaxi services across Europe, beginning in 2026.

The collaboration marks Baidu’s first foray into the European self-driving taxi market and represents a significant leap for Lyft as it ventures outside its North American home turf.

The joint rollout will begin in Germany and the United Kingdom, contingent on regulatory approval, with Baidu’s electric RT6 robotaxis operating on Lyft’s mobility platform. The two companies plan to expand the service to thousands of vehicles across Europe in the years ahead.

Lyft’s expansion is backed by its recent $200 million acquisition of FreeNow, a European mobility app formerly co-owned by BMW and Mercedes-Benz. FreeNow has established operations in over 180 cities across nine European countries and boasts strong regulatory relationships. Lyft executives say this foundation will play a critical role in navigating Europe’s complex transportation oversight.

“What we’re excited about with FreeNow is they have a deep, long-lasting relationship with regulators, and we want to go and have those conversations about how we do this,” said Lyft Executive Vice President of Driver Experience, Jeremy Bird.

Under the partnership, Lyft will manage customer services and fleet logistics, while Baidu will supply its autonomous RT6 vehicles and technical expertise. The RT6, Baidu’s latest-generation robotaxi, is equipped with a detachable steering wheel and advanced sensors, making it well-suited for complex urban driving scenarios.

The move comes as the UK government accelerates its push to bring robotaxis to public roads, aiming to allow services with paying passengers as early as spring 2026. Germany has also taken steps to create a legislative and regulatory framework for self-driving cars, making both countries strategic entry points for autonomous mobility firms.

Baidu’s Apollo Go platform currently operates over 1,000 autonomous vehicles across 15 cities in China, having completed more than 11 million rides. While it has been experimenting with robotaxi pilots in parts of Asia and North America, the Lyft partnership represents Baidu’s first commercial push into the European market.

The timing is critical for Lyft, which has faced growing pressure to expand its autonomous capabilities amid competition from rival Uber. Uber has formed partnerships with companies like Waymo, Pony.ai, WeRide, and Momenta to prepare for robotaxi deployment in Europe, with its own services expected to launch around the same time in 2026.

In June, Uber and Waymo officially launched autonomous ride-hailing services in Atlanta, just as Tesla began testing its own low-cost driverless cars in Austin.

In July, Uber announced a sweeping new partnership with electric vehicle maker Lucid and self-driving tech startup Nuro to develop and deploy more than 20,000 robotaxis across the United States over the next six years.

Under the agreement, Uber will invest $300 million in Lucid, which will manufacture the electric robotaxis.

However, the race to establish a foothold in Europe’s emerging robotaxi sector is intensifying. Analysts say the Lyft-Baidu collaboration could be a powerful combination of operational scale and technical innovation. Baidu brings one of the most sophisticated autonomous driving stacks in the world, while Lyft leverages FreeNow’s market penetration and regulatory goodwill.

However, success will depend heavily on securing regulatory approvals and public trust, both of which remain hurdles in Europe’s tightly regulated transportation sector.

If successful, the Lyft-Baidu rollout could reshape how people in major European cities commute, giving the two companies a head start in what is shaping up to be the next frontier of urban mobility.