After China and the United States, driverless taxis will develop in Europe

Global driverless taxis are no longer science fiction. In recent weeks, spectacular announcements have been multiplying. Chinese internet giant Baidu plans to launch several thousand robotaxis on the American ride-sharing app Lyft in Germany and Great Britain, starting in 2026.

Last month, Baidu announced a similar agreement with Uber in Asia and the Middle East. It already exists, and it's not always successful. In the United States, for example, Waymo, a Google subsidiary, offers fully autonomous taxi rides. In China, a fleet of more than 500 vehicles can be called via an app in certain neighborhoods of Wuhan—and it's imminent in Pudong, Shanghai's financial district.

Overall, the vehicles work well, even if there have been a few accidents and glitches (in San Francisco, a concert of horns every night when these cars have to park...), not to mention safety problems (women assaulted).

Given the billions invested each year (between 10 and 20), there will be no turning back. The Chinese are ahead, with Baidu and WeRide, but European manufacturers—Audi, Renault, Stellantis, and Mercedes—are working hard to develop these technologies.

Not right away. Baidu has decided to focus on Germany and the United Kingdom first. These are the commercial priorities. But the main obstacle, of course, is regulation. The project obviously depends on how long it takes to obtain regulatory approval for the initial rollout.

Lyft and Baidu said Monday that "in the coming years," Baidu's Apollo Go self-driving car fleet, the company's robotaxis service, will expand to thousands of vehicles across Europe.

Because for the moment, autonomous driving is not allowed on all types of roads. There have been recent advances on highways, but not yet in cities. It will probably take a few years. Probably not before 2030.