Baidu just fired the opening shot in Europe's robotaxi wars. The Chinese tech giant's Apollo Go unit will start testing fully autonomous taxis without steering wheels in Switzerland this December, marking the most concrete step yet by any major player to bring driverless vehicles to European roads. The move sets up a three-way race between Chinese firms, Google's Waymo, and ride-hailing platforms for Europe's emerging autonomous transport market.
Baidu isn't waiting for permission to reshape European transportation. The Chinese tech giant announced Wednesday that its Apollo Go robotaxi division will begin testing fully autonomous vehicles in Switzerland this December, partnering with local transit operator PostBus to bring steering wheel-free taxis to European roads.
The announcement represents the most aggressive timeline yet from any major robotaxi player targeting Europe. While competitors make vague promises about 2026 launches, Baidu is putting actual vehicles on Swiss roads in just two months through its new 'AmiGo' service partnership.
PostBus, Switzerland's largest public transit operator, will work directly with Apollo Go to deploy the RT6 electric vehicles - Baidu's purpose-built robotaxis designed without traditional driver controls. The companies plan to remove steering wheels entirely once the service goes public in Q1 2027, according to CNBC's reporting.
This Swiss deployment builds on Baidu's broader European strategy that's been quietly taking shape since summer. In August, the company struck a deal with Lyft to deploy robotaxis across the UK and Germany starting in 2026. A month earlier, Baidu partnered with Uber to bring Apollo Go vehicles to the ride-hailing platform outside the US and mainland China.
But Baidu isn't operating in a vacuum. The European robotaxi race is heating up fast, with Chinese rival Pony.ai announcing just last Friday that it will begin testing in Luxembourg within months before expanding to other European cities in 2025. The company's partnership with automotive giant Stellantis gives it manufacturing muscle that could prove crucial for scaling operations.
Google's Waymo, meanwhile, revealed plans last week to start London testing before launching commercial service there next year. The Alphabet-owned company brings years of operational experience from San Francisco and Phoenix, where it's already running thousands of paid rides monthly.
