A Global Autonomous Vehicle Fleet Takes Shape
By Daniel Lee, Mobility Tech Writer
Updated
1 min read
yft and Baidu are accelerating their vision for a global network of autonomous vehicles, with Europe as the next frontier. Following initial deployments planned for Asia and the Middle East later this year, the companies are targeting the UK and Germany for robotaxi launches in 2026, pending regulatory approval. Their ambition extends to expanding the European fleet to thousands of vehicles in the coming years.
Baidu is deploying its advanced sixth-generation Apollo Go vehicles for this initiative. Once operational in a market, users will be able to book these self-driving rides directly through the Lyft app, streamlining the experience.
Lyft plans to capitalize on its recent acquisition of taxi service Freenow, which has a strong presence in the UK and Germany, to fast-track the rollout. This collaboration, unveiled last month, builds on Baidu’s earlier announcement to begin testing Apollo Go in Europe this year, marking a significant step toward autonomous mobility worldwide.