How London is becoming the new ‘battleground’ for US and China robotaxi services

Uber and Lyft have formed separate partnerships with Chinese tech giant Baidu to launch robotaxi services in London starting in 2026. This move is designed to compete directly with Google-owned Waymo, which previously announced its own plans to participate in the British government's autonomous vehicle trials. Testing for the new Baidu-powered services, which will utilise the Apollo Go self-driving platform, is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2026. Both Uber and Baidu confirmed their collaboration through recent social media announcements, signalling a significant expansion of the "Apollo Go" service outside of China.This comes as the UK is rapidly becoming a key battleground in the global rollout of self-driving taxis, after the government accelerated its pilot programme timeline by a full year. This shift has drawn intense interest from international players, with Baidu now racing against Alphabet’s Waymo for market dominance. Uber is further diversifying its approach by also partnering with Wayve, a homegrown UK startup that uses specialised artificial intelligence (AI) for autonomous navigation. Waymo has already started testing specially modified Jaguar vehicles on London roads.In a post announcing the robotaxi trial on X, Uber wrote: “Exciting news for the UK: we're teaming up with @Baidu_Inc's Apollo Go to pilot autonomous vehicles in London! Testing is expected to start in the first half of 2026, under the UK’s frontier plan to begin trials for self-driving vehicles. We’re excited to accelerate Britain's leadership in the future of mobility, bringing another safe and reliable travel option to Londoners next year.” Meanwhile, the CEO and co-founder of Lyft, David Risher, shared more details about the robotaxi service his company will offer in London in partnership with Baidu. He wrote: “It’s official: @lyft and @Baidu_Inc are bringing AVs to London 🇬🇧Riders across the city will be the first in the region to experience Baidu’s Apollo Go vehicles. We expect to start testing our initial fleet with dozens of vehicles next year - pending regulatory approval - through the Lyft and Freenow ecosystem, with plans to scale to hundreds from there. (Details ⬇️)Our hybrid network - AVs and drivers working together - will serve all of London’s travel needs. We’re working closely with Transport for London regulators and local communities to expand the rideshare market and create more opportunities for everyone. More to come, but can’t wait to see the future of mobility arrive in one of the world’s greatest cities.” Earlier, in August 2025, Lyft announced its partnership with Baidu to deploy robotaxis in Europe. In a blog post from that time, Robin Li, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Baidu, wrote: “Our partnership with Lyft to deploy Apollo Go in Europe, starting with Germany and the United Kingdom, is a significant milestone in our global journey. This collaboration represents our commitment to making autonomous mobility accessible worldwide while working with local partners who understand their communities. By integrating Baidu's cutting-edge autonomous driving technology with Lyft's platform reach and operational expertise, we're excited to deliver safer, greener, and more efficient mobility solutions to more users.”