Lyft and Baidu enter London's robotaxi battleground as testing begins

Lyft and Baidu began testing autonomous vehicles in London on Tuesday as part of a partnership with Freenow, the German taxi app Lyft acquired in 2025, the companies announced. The testing with human safety operators marks Baidu's entry into a growing field of companies trialing self-driving technology in the UK ahead of commercial robotaxi deployments. The move comes nearly a year after Lyft and Baidu struck a strategic partnership to deploy Baidu's Apollo Go RT6 robotaxi across key European markets through the Lyft platform. The vehicles will eventually be available through Freenow by Lyft. Baidu and Freenow said they expect to invite the public to hail robotaxis in 2027, though the launch depends on regulatory approval and the companies did not provide a more detailed timeline. For now, dozens of test vehicles will operate within London's borough of Brent. Lyft and Freenow said they continue discussions with safety and city officials, including Transport for London and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles. The UK government opened applications in May for an autonomous vehicle pilot program that lets companies test self-driving vehicles under government oversight. When the service launches, Freenow by Lyft said it will operate a hybrid network with human drivers working alongside robotaxis. "As a platform with deep roots in the taxi industry, our priority is ensuring that autonomous technology supports the professional drivers who keep London moving," Thomas Zimmermann, CEO of Freenow by Lyft, said in a statement.