Baidu has formed a new, strategic partnership with Lyft which will see the deployment of Baidu’s Apollo Go autonomous vehicles (AVs) across a number of European markets through the Lyft platform.
The collaboration will see initial deployments of vehicles in Germany and the United Kingdom in 2026, pending regulatory approval
The fleet is set to scale to include thousands of Baidu Apollo Go’s sixth-generation vehicles across Europe in the following years.
Robin Li, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Baidu, said: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.
David Risher, Lyft CEO, said:Our partnership with Baidu is all about creating a great customer experience. Their extensive track record operating the world's largest autonomous ride-hailing service means we can bring all the benefits of AVs — safety, reliability, and privacy — to millions of Europeans.
It's part of our hybrid network approach, where AVs and human drivers work together to provide customer-obsessed options for riders. 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 new partnership is set to focus on four key areas in order to implement Baidu Apollo Go’s vehicles across Europe, including the general deployment of advanced AV technology, operational implementation, a shared value chain and integration into the European market.
