Baidu has announced a partnership with Switzerland’s PostBus, the public transport arm of Swiss Post, to launch its Apollo Go autonomous vehicle service in the European country, marking another major step in the Chinese technology company’s bid to expand its self-driving business across international markets.
Under the agreement, Baidu and PostBus will begin trial operations in December 2025, with full commercial service expected by early 2027, according to a joint statement on Wednesday. The program will deploy Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxis in eastern Switzerland, operating routes that stretch across the cantons of St. Gallen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, and Appenzell Innerrhoden.
The collaboration signals a strategic shift for Baidu as it moves to globalize its autonomous driving operations beyond China and the Middle East, leveraging partnerships with established Western transport operators to gain regulatory traction and local credibility.
A European Debut for Apollo Go
The partnership with PostBus marks Apollo Go’s first entry into continental Europe, expanding its current operations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Hong Kong, where Baidu already runs a fleet of more than 1,000 fully driverless vehicles.
The European launch will see Baidu’s autonomous shuttles integrated into Switzerland’s regional mobility network, where PostBus has long served as a critical public transit link for remote and mountainous communities.
The companies said the goal is to combine Baidu’s AI-driven navigation and perception systems with PostBus’s deep operational experience in local transport logistics. If successful, the service could serve as a model for integrating autonomous driving technology into existing European public transport systems.
While Switzerland has a relatively open regulatory framework for autonomous testing compared to larger EU markets, Baidu’s move is still seen as a significant regulatory and technological milestone. The Swiss government has previously permitted pilot programs for self-driving delivery and shuttle services, making it a logical testbed for Baidu’s expansion.
The deal with PostBus follows Baidu’s recent string of alliances aimed at accelerating its global rollout of Apollo Go. In August 2025, Baidu struck a partnership with Lyft to deploy robotaxis across multiple European cities beginning next year. Earlier this year, it also signed a major agreement with Uber to integrate thousands of its autonomous vehicles into the Uber platform across several international markets.
Through these partnerships, Baidu appears to be adopting a collaborative model that contrasts sharply with the go-it-alone approach of U.S. competitors such as Waymo and Cruise, which have focused primarily on the American market.
Analysts believe Baidu’s decision to align with established mobility networks gives it an advantage in entering highly regulated markets. By piggybacking on local transport operators, Baidu gains access to existing fleets, infrastructure, and passenger networks while minimizing the regulatory burden typically associated with introducing autonomous systems from scratch.
From Search Engine to AI Powerhouse
Baidu, long recognized as China’s dominant search engine, has spent the last several years diversifying its business as advertising revenues slowed amid a weakening domestic economy. The company has poured billions into artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and cloud computing, positioning these sectors as its future growth engines.
Apollo Go is now a central pillar of that transformation. The platform combines Baidu’s proprietary self-driving software stack, high-definition mapping, and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technologies. The company says its systems are capable of Level 4 autonomy — meaning vehicles can operate without human intervention in most conditions.
Baidu’s autonomous division has achieved several firsts in China, including commercial driverless taxi services in Beijing, Wuhan, and Shenzhen, and it has received the country’s highest-level permits for fully driverless operations. However, growth within China has slowed as domestic rivals such as Pony.ai, WeRide, and AutoX expand their presence, while regulatory scrutiny on AI systems tightens.
The push into Europe and the Middle East, therefore, reflects both a strategic hedge and an effort to position Baidu as a global AI mobility brand rather than one confined to the Chinese market.
A Test Case for China’s Autonomous Ambitions
The Swiss rollout also underscores China’s growing ambitions in exporting AI-powered mobility technology. While Chinese automakers have made significant inroads into Europe’s electric vehicle market, Baidu’s move represents one of the first major attempts by a Chinese tech company to operate fully autonomous passenger services on European soil.
Baidu’s debut in Switzerland comes as its American counterparts — including Waymo, backed by Alphabet, and Cruise, owned by General Motors — continue to struggle with regulatory pushback and public safety concerns in the United States. Both companies have faced operational suspensions and investigations after a series of accidents in San Francisco and Phoenix, leading U.S. regulators to impose stricter oversight on autonomous vehicle deployments.
It is expected that success in Switzerland could help Baidu establish a bridgehead for expansion into larger EU markets, including Germany and France, where regulators remain cautious but are under pressure to modernize transportation infrastructure.
Switzerland’s emphasis on innovation and high public trust in technology could provide fertile ground for public acceptance of self-driving vehicles. However, questions remain about data governance, cybersecurity, and cross-border control of AI-driven mobility systems—sensitive issues in a continent increasingly wary of Chinese technology influence.
With operations now spanning 16 cities worldwide, Baidu’s Apollo Go network is emerging as one of the most geographically diverse autonomous fleets in the world. Its expansion strategy—anchored in partnerships with established transport and ride-hailing firms—suggests that Baidu aims to build a federated ecosystem of robotaxi networks that adapt to local conditions rather than imposing a single centralized model.
For PostBus, the partnership offers an opportunity to modernize its fleet and test cost-efficient automation technologies in regions where low population density makes traditional bus services expensive to maintain.
In a joint statement, both companies said they see a long-term opportunity to integrate autonomous vehicles into everyday mobility, combining safety, sustainability, and accessibility.
As global competition intensifies among AI transport pioneers, Baidu’s European entry sets the stage for what could become a defining chapter in the race to commercialize driverless mobility at scale.
Baidu’s partnership with PostBus gives the company something none of its major U.S. counterparts can yet claim — a commercial pathway for fully autonomous operations in Europe.
