What happens when San Francisco-based ridesharing app Lyft clashes with China’s Baidu and the European market? A catastrophe! But, in a good way.
The official newsroom of Lyft has announced its newest partnership with Baidu, which is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet services and AI.
The goal: to improve ridesharing across Europe. How exciting! Here’s the scoop.
‘Significant milestone’ in their ‘global journey’
“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,” stated Robin Li, the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Baidu.
Li added how this collaboration represents the two companies’ commitments “to making autonomous mobility accessible” from around the world 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,” Li further pointed out.
The key areas
In order to fulfill those goals and vision, there are four key areas that are in play:
- Advanced AV technology deployment: Purpose-built and fully-electric RT6 cars designed from the ground up will be plying the roads for the rideshare operations. Apollo Go is an electric scooter branda that is designed for urban commuting, known for its power, portability, and high-tech features. These cars will leverage the Autonomous Driving Foundation Model of the brand, plus six generations of real-world testing. These rides will soon be available on the Lyft ecosystem.
- Operational excellence: The operations will cover more than 3,000 square kilometers, proving the ability of Apollo Go to demonstrate the capability to scale from test operations to full commercial deployment across the biggest metropolitan areas in Europe.
- It’s a strategic partnership: Thirdly and most improtantly, this is a strategic partnership between Lyft and Baidu. While the latter provides cars, technology validation, and comprehensive technical support, the ridesharing app builds on its strategy to provide the scaling up of autonomous operations.
- Historic European market integration: Lyft is serving as the first-ever European rideshare partner of Baidu, leveraging its recent acquisitions.
Implementation
David Risher, the CEO of Lyft, has broken his silence regarding the matter, saying, “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.”
However, people would have to wait until 2026 before they see this partnership come into fruition.