The intensifying global competition in autonomous driving is seeing European market become a major ground for innovative Chinese self-driving cars.Start-ups like Pony.ai and WeRide are expanding operations and strategic partnerships with European urban renters.

Baidu has announced that Apollo Go,its autonomous ride-hailing service,has entered into a strategic partnership with PostBus,the leading public transport operator subsidiary of Swiss Post,to launch an on-demand autonomous mobility service AmiGo in Switzerland.

The service,designed to complement Switzerland's public transport system,will deploy Apollo Go's autonomous vehicles in Switzerland,covering an area that stretches across the cantons of St.Gallen,Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden,according to the information the company shared with Global Times on Thursday.

On October 17,Stellantis and Pony.ai,a company in autonomous driving,announced they have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding(MoU)aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of robotaxi cars in Europe.

The collaboration,through Pony.ai's European division headquartered in Luxembourg,will integrate Pony.ai's advanced autonomous driving software with Stellantis'medium-size van(K0)AV-Ready Platform-BEV version,to deliver safe,scalable and efficient urban mobility solutions.

The companies plan to begin deploying test vehicles based on the Peugeot e-Traveller model in Luxembourg in the coming months,followed by a gradual rollout across European cities starting in 2026.The real-world testing will focus on validating safety,performance,and regulatory readiness.

On March 27,WeRide announced a partnership with French autonomous mobility operator beti,securing a permit for fully driverless car testing and operation in France.