Startup Moment Plan for Self-Driving Cars in China to begin testing Robotaxis in Munich, Germany from 2026 – the first company in one of the continental European cities publicly announced – with plans to expand to other markets.
The partnership was first announced in May 2025. This was when Uber said it would launch athletic vehicles on European platforms in 2026, which stated that it would initially monitor the vehicle along with human safety operators and control it if necessary.
Founded in 2016, Momenta is one of China’s earliest self-driving vehicle (AV) companies. The Beijing-based startup has been testing autonomous vehicles in China since 2018 and is considered a major player in the country’s competitive AV market.
Uber’s move is to compete directly with other passenger companies expanding into the European AV market. In August, for example, Lyft announced a contract with China’s Baidu to deploy Robotaxis across Europe starting next year, starting in Germany and the UK.
Momenta is one of 20 global AV partners that Uber has built into its entire ride, delivery and freight business. Uber said these partnerships already generate 1.5 million mobility and annual rates for delivery travel.
In the US, Uber offers Waymo’s Robotaxis on apps in Austin, Atlanta, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Internationally, Uber has partnered with other Chinese AV startups such as Momema and Pony.ai to deploy Robotaxis on Uber platforms in the Middle East. Uber and Weride currently offer AV rides in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, and are planning to expand to Dubai. Uber and UK-based Wayve recently announced plans to launch a public road trial for Level 4 AVS in London.
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(Level 4 autonomy means that the vehicle can operate without human intervention under certain conditions.)
In a statement, Uber said it chose Munich as a European launch because of its urban engineering heritage and a strong automotive ecosystem.
“Germany has shaped the global automotive industry for over a century. Now, Munich can help shape the future with self-driving cars,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement.
TechCrunch contacted Uber and Momenta to learn if they were still starting the certification process in Germany. Momenta must prove to German regulators that the vehicle meets certain safety standards and has a designed sales area (called “Geo fenced zones”) approved by the authorities.
The release may be Momenta’s first Robotaxi deployment in Europe. The company is operating its services in Shanghai with plans to deploy commercially with onboard safety operators by the end of this year. To function to develop level 4 features, Momenta is also working on the deployment of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADA) with partner automakers, including German brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. According to the company, Mommemas’s Adas are already installed in 400,000 vehicles sold to customers.
