Lyft, an American ride-sharing company, announced a partnership with the Chinese company Baidu to launch autonomous vehicles in Europe starting in 2026.
In a statement, Lyft indicated that it plans to launch its first autonomous vehicles in Europe, in Germany and the United Kingdom, pending the approval of specific regulations.
The American company also mentioned that it will use Baidu’s sixth generation of robotaxis and aims to increase its fleet to “thousands of vehicles” across Europe in the coming years.
The announcement from Lyft comes after the company acquired Freenow, one of the largest taxi apps in Europe, allowing the American company to enter nine new countries in the region.
In this way, the San Francisco-based company is catching up to its global rival, Uber Technologies, by moving towards the use of robotaxis, at a time when Lyft is working to offer its first autonomous rides in Atlanta, USA, later this year with May Mobility.
It is worth noting that in July, Uber announced a similar agreement with the Chinese company Baidu, to use its autonomous vehicles starting at the end of this year in Asia and the Middle East, in an initial phase.
