Uber and Momenta will test fully driverless cars in Germany

Uber and one of its many robotaxi partners, Momenta, will test fully driverless cars in Germany next year. The news comes as Europe continues to lag behind the US and China in the number of commercially operational robotaxi services.

The companies say they will test Level 4 autonomous vehicles in Munich starting in 2026. (Level 4 describes fully driverless vehicles, without safety drivers, that can operate anywhere within a defined geographic area.) If everything goes according to plan in Munich, Uber says that Momenta robotaxis could be coming to additional European cities in the years to come.

Momenta is based in Shanghai, where it is currently operating its own robotaxi service. Earlier this year, Uber said it would allow the company to add its robotaxis to its ridehailing platform, though it would be cities outside the US and China. Uber also said that Momenta’s robotaxis would feature safety monitors behind the wheel at launch, before eventually transitioning to fully driverless vehicles.

Momenta, which has received funding from China’s state-owned SAIC Motor, GM, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and Bosch, currently supplies driver assist software to a number of automakers, including Mercedes and BMW.

Though it currently lags behind the US and China, Europe is starting to see more robotaxi action that signals the floodgates could soon be open. In addition to Uber and Momenta, China’s Baidu and Lyft plan on bringing driverless taxis to the UK and Germany in 2026. Volkswagen has also been testing autonomous vehicles in Germany for several years, and recently said it would launch its own robotaxi service with — you guessed it — Uber in Los Angeles in 2026.