Baidu plans to expand its robotaxis to Europe with Lyft deal

In this articleBIDU your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTCheng Xin | Getty ImagesBaidu will bring its driverless taxis to Europe next year via a partnership with U.S. ridehailing firm Lyft, as the Chinese giant looks to expand its autonomous vehicles globally.The robotaxis will initially be deployed in the U.K. and Germany from 2026 with the aim to have "thousands" of vehicles across Europe in the "ing years," the two companies said.Lyft has had very little presence in Europe until last week when it closed the acquisition of Germany-based ride hailing company FreeNow, which is available in over 150 cities across nine countries, including Ireland, the U.K., Germany and France.Deployment of the autonomous cars is "pending regulatory apval," Lyft and Baidu said in a Monday statement

It's un if Lyft will offer Baidu's robotaxis via the FreeNow app or another duct.The partnership marks a continued push from Baidu to expand its robotaxis to international .Last month, Baidu partnered with Uber to deploy its autonomous cars on the ride-hailing giant's platform outside the U.S. and mainland China, with a focus on the Middle East and Asia, which will launch later this year