The tests will serve as a precursor to the companies' plan to launch a robot taxi service in 2026.

Uber and  one of its many robot taxi partners, Momenta,will test fully driverless cars in Germany next year. This news comes at a time when Europe continues to lag behind the US and China in the number of commercially operating robot taxi services. 

The companies say they will test Level 4 autonomous vehicles in Munich starting in 2026. If everything goes according to plan in Munich, Uber says Momenta robotaxis could come to other European cities in the coming years.

Momenta is a Shanghai-based company and currently operates its own robot taxi service. Earlier this year, Uber announced it would allow the company to add its robotaxis to its ride-hailing platform, but only in cities outside the US and China. Uber also stated that Momenta's robot taxis will have safety officers behind the wheel when they are launched, but that they will eventually transition to fully driverless vehicles.

Momenta, which receives funding from China's state-owned SAIC Motor, GM, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and Bosch, currently provides driver assistance software to many car manufacturers, including Mercedes and BMW.

Though currently lagging behind the US and China, Europe is beginning to see an increase in the number of robot taxis, signaling that a major boom in this area could be imminent. In addition to Uber and Momenta, China's Baidu and Lyft also plan to bring driverless taxis to the UK and Germany by 2026. Volkswagen has been testing autonomous vehicles in Germany for several years and recently announced that it will launch its own robot taxi service. 

Nevertheless, Uber and Momenta must prove that they meet safety standards for testing and operations in Germany, and their areas of operation must be approved by the authorities. (lLKHA)