Uber & Co Are Turning London into a Robotaxi Mecca

Over 100,000 interested parties Uber & Co Are Turning London into a Robotaxi Mecca

2026-08-07 Source: dpa 1 min Reading Time

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The ride-hailing service Uber and its software partner Wayve have obtained their first license to transport passengers with self-driving cars in the British capital ...

Uber and its partner Wayve report that they now have the license to operate robotaxis in London. Electric Mustang models from Ford are being converted for this purpose. But the two are not alone in autonomous operations in London...(Image: Ford) — Uber and its partner Wayve report that they now have the license to operate robotaxis in London. Electric Mustang models from Ford are being converted for this purpose. But the two are not alone in autonomous operations in London...
(Image: Ford)

Initially, it is said, some modified electric cars of Ford's Mustang model will still be on the road with safety drivers behind the wheel. However, the first selected passengers are expected to be transported later this summer, according to the two companies. According to Uber, over 100,000 Londoners have already expressed interest in using a robotaxi on the platform. Google's sister company Waymo, which is by far the leader in robotaxis, also announced a launch in London this year. When exactly is still uncertain. Waymo is already operating nearly 4,000 vehicles without drivers in 15 U.S. cities. According to Waymo, its robotaxis complete over 500,000 paid passenger rides per week. Chinese company Baidu also recently began test drives with self-driving cars in the capital by the Thames.

Munich is set to become a global test city for an Uber project regarding robotaxis, which is to be carried out together with Autobrains ... (Image:Uber)

Uber Also Wants to Roll Out Its Own Vehicles

Uber once developed its own tools for autonomous driving. However, the ride-hailing company abandoned the project after a fatal accident during a test drive and focused on bringing robotaxis from various developers onto its platform. In some U.S. cities, Waymo vehicles are therefore also bookable via Uber. Alongside, Uber plans to put around 20,000 of its own cars on the road in collaboration with software developer Nuro and electric car manufacturer Lucid, thereby competing with the live drivers on its platform. While most autonomous vehicle developers come from the U.S. or China, Uber's partner Wayve is a British player whose software is designed to learn from human behavior, as it is finally stated.

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