Uber and China’s Momenta have joined hands, launching trials to test robotaxis in Germany.
The trials came on the heels of Europe’ s declining position in terms of catering to commercially operational autonomous taxi services.
According to the companies, they will initiate testing of Level 4 robot vehicles in Munich in 2026. In terms of electrical vehicles, Level 4 describes fully driverless cars, capable of operating anywhere within a defined geographical territory.
If the trials remain successful, the Momenta robotaxis could be rolled out in other European cities in the coming years.
In May last year, both companies Uber and Momenta announced collaboration to launch autonomous vehicles in Europe by 2026.
Initially, they will launch the taxis with human safety operators to take control of the vehicles and ensure humans’ protection.
Uber and Momenta are both waiting for German regulatory and operational approvals to meet country’s safety standards
Besides Uber, other companies such as China’s Baidu and Lyft are making headways in European EV markets.
Baidu and Lyft have announced plans to launch driverless taxis to Germany and the UK next year.
Volkswagen has also been testing robotaxis in Germany for several years and it also plans to roll out the services in Los Angeles in 2026 with the collaboration of Uber.