U.S. ride-hailing firm Lyft Inc. announced today that it’s teaming up with the Chinese tech giant, Baidu, Inc., to deploy driverless taxis across Europe, starting with the U.K. and Germany in 2026.
In the U.S. market, Lyft is the second-largest ride-hailing firm behind Uber Technologies Inc., but while the latter has a pervasive presence across much of Europe, Lyft has yet to make an impact on the continent. That changed last week when Lyft acquired the multimobility app FreeNow, the region’s leading taxi‑booking app, operating in more than 150 cities in nine countries across Europe, including Ireland, the U.K., Germany and France.
Today’s partnership announcement will see Lyft launching “thousands” of vehicles across Europe in the coming years, according to a press release. The cars will be Baidu’s Apollo Go autonomous vehicles. It’s not clear right now if they’ll be used in tandem with the FreeNow app, and the companies are still waiting for regulatory approval in the U.K. and Germany to get things started.
“It’s part of our hybrid network approach, where AVs and human drivers work together to provide customer-obsessed options for riders,” said Chief Executive David Risher. “And importantly, we’re committed to working hand-in-hand with local regulators to ensure we deploy these vehicles in their communities in a smart, thoughtful way that benefits everyone.”
The deal comes three months after Uber announced its own partnership with a Chinese autonomous vehicle company, Momenta, with the firms looking at launching thousands of robotaxis together across various European cities yet to be specified. Uber has also partnered with Baidu to launch robotaxis in the Middle East and in Asia outside of China.
According to the New York Times, China’s state-controlled banking system has lent money at lowinterest rates to the country’s car companies in an effort to corner much of the global market. The one country where Chinese driverless cars have not made an impact is the U.S., where tariffs and personal injury lawsuits stand as a hurdle, as well as the U.S.’s security concerns. The U.S. robotaxi market also seems sewn up right now with Google LLC-owned Waymo taking the lead, followed by Tesla Inc.
But with lower costs to build electric cars and fit them with the technology necessary to transform them into a robotaxi, Chinese firms offer competitive prices. It’s believed right now that 19 automakers in the country are running tests in at least 12 Chinese cities, with one in the city of Wuhan being touted as the largest test of its kind in the world. And reportedly, with fewer limits on safety and less public criticism, Chinese car firms can test their vehicles without too many barriers.
Photo: Lyft
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