Baidu's Apollo Go begins London road tests after 22 million rides

Baidu's Apollo Go, which has completed 22 million cumulative rides, began London road testing with Lyft's Freenow and Uber, bringing China's largest autonomous fleet to a market where Waymo, Wayve and Uber are all vying for position. The tests, which started July 28, will initially take place in the Brent borough with safety operators on board, covering a mix of urban and suburban driving environments.

"Testing our autonomous fleet in one of the world's most iconic and complex urban environments confirms our technology's maturity and our commitment to this market," Nan Yang, Vice President of Baidu and General Manager of Overseas Business Unit, Intelligent Driving Group, said. "By combining our autonomous driving technology with Freenow by Lyft's local operational expertise, we are officially moving from vision to reality, together."

Thomas Zimmermann, CEO of Freenow by Lyft, said the company's priority is ensuring autonomous technology supports professional drivers. "By integrating these purpose-built, autonomous vehicles from Baidu's Apollo Go into the Freenow by Lyft platform, we will give Londoners more sustainable choices to travel," he said.

The RT6 vehicles, Apollo Go's sixth-generation autonomous car, will operate as part of a hybrid network alongside Freenow's established taxi and private hire vehicles, with the goal of reducing pickup times as fleet size grows. Apollo Go is also advancing a separate London cooperation with Uber and has started related testing work, according to a separate announcement. Both partnerships plan to welcome public riders starting in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.

London represents a critical expansion for Baidu as it competes with Waymo, Uber and Wayve, all of which have indicated plans to launch autonomous ride-hailing in the UK capital after the country opened the door for autonomous ridehail vehicles. Apollo Go's global footprint spans 27 cities as of May, with its fleet accumulating over 330 million autonomous kilometers globally, including more than 220 million fully driverless kilometers. In the first quarter of 2026, Apollo Go completed 3.2 million fully driverless rides, growing more than 120 percent year over year.

The London program builds on Apollo Go's testing experience in Hong Kong, its first right-hand-drive market. On July 23, Apollo Go received the first fully driverless trial permit from Hong Kong's Transport Department, with testing beginning on Airport Island on July 27. That marked Hong Kong's first Level 4 autonomous trial on public roads without an on-board safety operator and the first fully driverless trial in any right-hand-drive market globally.

A Censuswide survey commissioned by Freenow by Lyft in March showed 58 percent of Londoners would be likely to try an autonomous vehicle, with nearly two-thirds of those under 35 in favor. For Baidu, success in London could open the door to other European markets where Lyft's Freenow operates across 180 cities in nine countries. Lyft acquired Freenow in July 2025, giving it a European mobility platform to deploy autonomous vehicles alongside its existing ride-hailing business.

Baidu shares trade on the Hong Kong exchange under 9888 and on the Nasdaq under BIDU. The stock fell 2.6 percent in Hong Kong trading on July 28. The autonomous driving unit does not yet contribute material revenue to Baidu, but the expansion into London and Hong Kong shows the company's commitment to commercializing the technology outside China. For investors, the key question is whether Apollo Go can achieve meaningful scale in Europe before Waymo and other competitors establish dominant positions in the region.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.