Baidu Expands Robotaxi Service to Switzerland in Partnership with PostBus

Baidu expands robotaxi push to Switzerland in PostBus deal

BEIJING, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Baidu (9888.HK), opens new tab announced a partnership with Switzerland's PostBus on Wednesday to launch its Apollo Go autonomous vehicle service in the European country, as the Chinese tech firm accelerates a global push of its self-driving business. The partnership comes after Baidu partnered with Lyft in August to deploy robotaxis across Europe starting next year and follows a deal with Uber to deploy thousands of its autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform across several international markets. The partnership with PostBus, the public transport operator subsidiary of Swiss Post, will see an initial trial fleet begin testing in December 2025 with regular operations to be rolled out in the first quarter of 2027 at the latest, Baidu said in a statement. Baidu and PostBus plan to deploy Apollo Go's autonomous vehicles in eastern Switzerland, covering an area that stretches across the cantons of St. Gallen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden. Baidu, China's leading search engine operator, has been increasing its focus on technologies including AI and self-driving as its advertising-driven search engine business has slowed due to a weakening Chinese economy. Baidu said Apollo Go currently operates a fully driverless fleet of over 1,000 vehicles globally, with its footprint spanning 16 cities including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong. Reporting by Liam Mo and Brenda Goh; Editing by Joe Bavier Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Baidu Strikes Partnership to Deploy Robotaxis in Switzerland

Baidu is partnering with Swiss company PostBus to deploy robotaxi services in Switzerland, as the Chinese company continues to expand its autonomous-driving offering overseas. The Chinese tech company said Wednesday that its Apollo Go business is collaborating with PostBus, the public-transport arm of Swiss Post, to roll out robotaxi services in eastern Switzerland. Initial fleet testing will start in December, thereafter expanding to regular operations by the first quarter of 2027, according to a statement. The fully driverless vehicles will offer seating for up to four passengers. Initial test runs will use a pilot fleet for mapping trips without passengers and will have safety drivers on board, Baidu said. In the first half of 2026, pilot operations will expand to a select group of users, still with safety drivers on board. "We will work closely with PostBus to enhance smart mobility in Switzerland, supplementing the existing public transport network and contributing to the nation's reputation for innovation," said Liang Zhang, managing director of EMEA at Apollo Go. Apollo Go signed a partnership with Lyft in August to offer services in Europe. The companies plan to launch robotaxis in Germany and the United Kingdom first. Last week, Chinese autonomous-driving company Pony AI said that it is partnering with Jeep maker Stellantis to deploy robotaxis in Luxembourg. Chinese robotaxi companies have moved to expand overseas and scale up their fleets in a race to commercialize their offerings.