The two companies announced their plan on Monday, promising that if they can secure regulatory approval they’ll start offering robo-rides in the UK and Germany next year, using the same Baidu Apollo cabs already operating in China which Uber plans to use in the Middle East.

Lyft says that it will leverage its recent acquisition of taxi company Freenow to speed up deployment of autonomous vehicles, given that platform's established foothold in the UK and Germany. The partnership between Lyft and Baidu,

Lyft is planning for thousands of Baidu robotaxis to be deployed across Europe, starting in the UK and Germany by 2026.