China’s Baidu tests robotaxi on London streets

By Marissa Davison LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) US-based Lyft unit Freenow and Baidu s Apollo Go unveiled the Chinese company s RT6 autonomous vehicle in London on Thursday and said they hope to launch ​a driverless robotaxi service in the city in 2027. The two ‌companies began testing vehicles in London with safety drivers in the summer and hope to have fully driverless vehicles in the city next year, aiming for a commercial launch in 2027. The partnership between San Francisco-based ride-hailing firm Lyft and China s Baidu in ‌London ​comes as the US Senate is working to ⁠pass a permanent ban ⁠on Chinese cars in the United States, pushing more companies to focus on Europe. Competition between robotaxi developers in London is heating up. UK self-driving vehicle startup Wayve and Lyft rival Uber launched a robotaxi ​service in London in September, initially with a human safety driver behind the wheel. US robotaxi company Waymo, a unit of Google parent Alphabet, ⁠aims to launch a fully dr