As the first continental European city either firm has officially mentioned, ride-hailing behemoth Uber and Chinese autonomous car startup Momenta intend to begin testing robotaxis in Munich, Germany, in 2026, with ambitions to extend to additional cities.
Uber originally announced the agreement in May 2025 when it announced that Momenta-powered cars would be available on its platform in Europe in 2026. At first, these cars would have human safety operators on board to keep an eye on them and take over if necessary.
One of the first autonomous vehicle (AV) firms in China was Momenta, which was established in 2016. The Beijing-based startup is regarded as a prominent competitor in China’s competitive autonomous vehicle (AV) sector and has been testing self-driving cars there since 2018.
Due to this move, Uber is now directly competing with other ride-hailing businesses that are entering the European AV industry. To give you an idea, Lyft and Baidu of China gave a statement in August that both companies were planning to introduce robotaxis al across the Europe beginning in Germany and the UK next year.
Uber has added 20 international AV partners to its ride-hailing, delivery, and freight operations, including Momenta. In the words of Uber, these agreements have already resulted in 1.5 million deliveries as well as mobility trips annually. Waymo’s robotaxis is available on the Uber app in Austin, Atlanta, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco in the United States.
In order to introduce robotaxis on the Uber platform in the Middle East, Uber has teamed up with Momenta and other Chinese AV firms, including as WeRide and Pony.ai. With intentions to extend to Dubai, Uber and WeRide presently provide AV trips in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.
Recently, Uber along with Wayve, both of which are based in the UK, announced their intention to start Level 4 AV public road trials in London. Level 4 autonomy indicates that, in some circumstances, the vehicle can function without human assistance.
In a statement, Uber said that Munich’s strong automotive ecosystem and engineering legacy were the main reasons it selected the city as its European launchpad.
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber gave a statement in which he said:
“Germany has shaped the global automotive industry for more than a century, and now Munich will help shape the future with autonomous vehicles”.
Uber and Momenta, both were contacted by TechObserver in order to figure out if they are currently conducting the certification process in Germany yet. Momenta must demonstrate to German regulators that its cars adhere to safety regulations and that the authorities have authorized the locations in which they are intended to operate, known as “geo-fenced zones.”
Momenta may be deploying its first robotaxi in Europe with this launch. With intentions to launch a commercial rollout with onboard safety operators by the end of this year, the company has been running a service in Shanghai.
Momenta has been working with partner automakers, including German brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi, to implement advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) as part of its efforts to improve its Level 4 capabilities. The company claims that 400,000 cars delivered to consumers today already have Momenta’s ADAS installed.
