Chinese tech giant Baidu is to work with Lyft to offer self-driving taxi services in Europe as early as next year, the companies said.

Under the deal the companies said they aim to offer initial services in the UK and Germany as soon as next year, pending regulatory approvals.

The companies said Lyft would manage the taxi fleets, logistics and customer service, while Baidu would provide autonomous vehicles and technical expertise.

European expansion

Lyft last Thursday closed its $200 million (£151m) acquisition of Hamburg, Germany-based mobility app FreeNow, which allows users to book taxis, ride shares, e-scooters, bicycles e-mopeds and other forms of transportation.

FreeNow operates in more than 180 cities across Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom, giving Lyft substantial reach across the region, and marking its first expansion outside North America.

The companies said they plan to roll out “thousands” of robotaxis across Europe in the coming years.

Baidu is best known in China as an internet search provider, but its Apollo Go service is also a major operator of autonomous taxi services, with more than 1,000 vehicles operating across 15 cities worldwide, including major Chinese cities such as Beijing.

Its partnership with Lyft is its first expansion into Europe.

The company last month sealed a broader deal with Uber to launch autonomous taxis outside the US and China, with a focus on the Middle East and Asia, with initial services to begin operating later this year.

That deal also covers Europe, but the companies did not provide a launch date for the region.

In the UK, the government has fast-tracked the timeline for offering robotaxi services, with the aim of initial paid services beginning operations in the spring of next year.

Uber and Wayve earlier this year formed a partnership to launch UK services once regulatory approval is given.

Competition

Uber is working to offer robotaxi services worldwide with partners including Waymo and China’s Pony.ai, WeRide and Momenta, including a European launch planned with Momenta next year.

Uber and Guangzhou-based WeRide are planning robotaxi fleets in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with plans to expand into 15 more Middle Eastern and European cities.

Uber’s global robotaxi expansion has put increased pressure on Lyft to broaden its scope outside North America and to expand its autonomous taxi operations.

“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,” said Baidu co-founder and chief executive Li Yan.