The robotaxi game is about to change now that China is to penetrate London with these cars via Baidu. RSF has the details.
Baidu robotaxis in London!
China-based technology giant Baidu, which also has appeared in previous reports here on RSF, is once again in the headlines as the latest update on its push for robotaxis in Great Britain says that Baidu has already started testing, that’s right, autonomous cars in London as part of its team-up with Lyft and Freenow, the German taxi and multi-mobility app owned by Lyft. Baidu is the most recent in a string of companies to test self-driving technologies in the western European country, ahead of commercial deployments for robotaxis.
Baidu is a technology company that gets its name from “baidu,” which literally translates to “hundred times” or “hundred degrees” in Chinese, derived from a classic Song Dynasty poetry about persistence in search for an ideal.
The company is a Chinese multinational technology company that specializes in Internet systems and artificial intelligence, or AI.
This initiative carries Freenow’s partnership together with Baidu’s Apollo Go, its autonomous taxi and ridesharing system. Testing has officially begun in London, Great Britain. Uber also stated that the cars are now in operation on public roads in the British capital. Uber is also part of this deal.
Baidu is also saying that this deployment marks the very first-time a Chinese autonomous car company has conducted real-world road testing in such a complex traffic environment like that of London. This also represents Apollo Go’s latest expansion into a right-hand-drive market, following its launch in Hong Kong.
Freenow is saying that the test fleet will be using Apollo RT6 robotaxis that are equipped with safety operations onboard. Brent will hold initial trials. Brent is a London borough that includes both urban and sub-urban driving conditions. Freenow and Apollo Go are also looking at starting
to offer rides to the public beginning this 2027. So, this is a brand-new update, really.
How this will work
Basically, this will put driverless cars on the streets of one of the busiest cities globally. Testing have started in a confined area in the Brent borough.
Every car is maneuvered by a safety driver, to ensure that no accidents will happen. Aside from the safety driver there, a few dozen electric Ford Mustangs will also be used on the side to operate the services. The goal is to progress to fully driverless driving, or SAE Level 4, once a safety track record is established.
Fee-paying public rides are not expected to start until next year, subject to agreement. This agreement also manages Uber and Wayve, an autonomous driving startup from Cambridge, which is planning to launch a commercial robotaxi service, too.
This isn’t the first in London, though it’s the first for Chinese robotaxis. Waymo has had a test fleet of around 100 robotaxis using Jaguar iPace cars, operating in 19 boroughs in London since the latter half of 2025.
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