A CHINESE ROBOTAXI COMPANY IS COMING TO EUROPE WITHOUT BEING WAYMO..
Waymo has become the name most people associate with robotaxis. But a Chinese company backed by Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and BYD is quietly preparing to put thousands of autonomous taxis on roads around the world.
MEET MOMENTA
The company is Momenta Global, a Chinese autonomous-driving technology company founded by former Microsoft researcher Cao Xudong.
And its ambitions have suddenly become much bigger.
On September 30, Momenta's robotaxi chief told Reuters that the company is targeting thousands of robotaxis globally in 2027, with plans to expand into Dubai and additional European cities. Momenta is already testing robotaxis in Munich, as well as Abu Dhabi, while running trials in five Chinese cities.
The interesting part is who is behind it.
Momenta counts Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and BYD among its automotive partners.
That makes the company less like a standalone taxi operator and more like a piece of automotive infrastructure.
IT HAS TWO BUSINESSES
Momenta isn't betting everything on robotaxis.
Its business is divided broadly into two areas:
Advanced driver-assistance software
and
Robotaxi technology and operations
The first business sells autonomous-driving technology to automakers.
The second is trying to turn that technology into an actual transportation service.
That distinction matters.
A robotaxi company can make money from rides.
An autonomous-driving technology company can potentially make money every time an automaker puts its software into a vehicle.
Momenta is attempting to participate in both markets.
MERCEDES IS PART OF THE STORY
Mercedes-Benz has been one of Momenta's most important strategic partners.
The relationship goes beyond simply putting a logo on a partnership announcement.
Mercedes invested in Momenta and has worked with the company on advanced driver-assistance technology for vehicles in China.
That gives Momenta something many autonomous-driving startups would love to have:
access to a global automotive manufacturer.
Instead of developing technology in isolation and then trying to convince carmakers to adopt it, Momenta can develop alongside an established vehicle manufacturer.
THEN THERE'S TOYOTA
Toyota is another major strategic connection.
The Japanese automaker has invested in Momenta and partnered with the company on autonomous-driving technology.
And BYD is also among Momenta's partners.
So three major automotive names are connected to the company:
Mercedes-Benz → Toyota → BYD
That changes how the business can scale.
The robotaxi fleet doesn't necessarily need to be entirely owned by Momenta.
The company can provide the technology while automotive and mobility partners handle other parts of the system.
THE ROBOTAXI IS REALLY A THREE-PARTY BUSINESS
This is becoming one of the most important models in autonomous mobility.
You need:
Autonomous-driving technology
↓
Vehicle
↓
Fleet operation
↓
Customer
A technology company doesn't necessarily need to own everything.
Momenta can provide the autonomous-driving system.
A vehicle manufacturer can provide the car.
A local mobility operator can manage the fleet.
A ride-hailing platform can provide customers.
That turns robotaxis from one giant vertically integrated company into an ecosystem.
EUROPE IS ALREADY OPENING UP
Europe has historically moved more cautiously on autonomous passenger vehicles than China and the United States.
But that is changing.
France, Germany, Italy and 14 other European countries signed a joint declaration in 2026 aimed at coordinating autonomous-vehicle testing and deployment across borders.
Germany has also established a legal framework for Level 4 autonomous driving, although companies still need the relevant permits and approvals for commercial operations.
The market is therefore moving from:
"Can this technology drive?"
toward:
"Where can it legally operate at scale?"
MUNICH IS ALREADY ON MOMENTA'S MAP
Momenta isn't merely announcing Europe from Beijing.
It is already testing in Munich.
Reuters reported that the company currently has more than 100 robotaxis deployed across three countries, while its Munich operation forms part of its European testing program.
Munich is particularly interesting because it is one of Europe's major automotive centres.
BMW is headquartered there.
The city is deeply connected to Germany's automotive supply chain.
For an autonomous-driving company, that means the location isn't only about passengers.
It is also about being close to the companies that build cars.
AND MOMENTA ISN'T ALONE
Europe is becoming a surprisingly crowded robotaxi laboratory.
Waymo is preparing for commercial operations in Munich and has said it is targeting London as well.
Pony.ai, another Chinese autonomous-driving company, announced in August that it and Uber plan to deploy more than 2,000 robotaxis across Europe, expanding from their existing commercial service in Zagreb to four additional European cities.
And WeRide, another Chinese autonomous-driving company, has expanded its European footprint to six countries, including Denmark.
So the European robotaxi market is not simply:
Waymo vs European companies.
Chinese companies are becoming part of the competitive landscape.
WAYMO HAS A DIFFERENT ADVANTAGE
Waymo has something Momenta is still building:
operational scale in fully autonomous passenger services.
Alphabet's autonomous-driving company already operates commercial robotaxi services in multiple U.S. cities.
Waymo is now preparing for Europe, including Munich and London.
Momenta's advantage is different.
It already has relationships with major Asian and European automakers and has experience operating within China's enormous automotive ecosystem.
So the two companies are approaching the same industry from opposite directions.
Waymo:
Autonomous service → fleet → expansion → automakers
Momenta:
Automakers → autonomous technology → fleet partnerships → robotaxi service
MOMENTA DOESN'T NEED TO OWN YOUR CAR
This could become one of the most important differences.
Imagine a future where a Mercedes vehicle contains Momenta's autonomous-driving technology.
The customer doesn't necessarily know or care which company developed the software.
They simply book the vehicle.
That creates a potentially enormous market.
Momenta can make money from the technology without needing to personally own every vehicle operating on the road.
THE ROBOTAXI CAN BECOME A DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL
This is why automaker partnerships matter.
A robotaxi isn't just a taxi.
It is also a moving demonstration of autonomous-driving technology.
Every passenger experiences the software.
Every trip generates operational data.
Every additional vehicle gives the system another environment in which to operate.
The loop becomes:
More vehicles → more trips → more data → better system → more deployments
That is an important advantage of operating technology in the real world.
BUT THE ECONOMICS ARE STILL EARLY
The headlines around thousands of robotaxis can make the business look more mature than it is.
Momenta remains unprofitable and is still investing heavily in research and development. Its Hong Kong IPO in July raised roughly $751 million, but its shares have since fallen around 45% from the IPO price amid broader caution around AI-related stocks.
So the robotaxi expansion is not yet a story about massive profits.
It is a story about building the installed base.
WHY THOUSANDS OF CARS CHANGE THE EQUATION
One hundred robotaxis is a demonstration.
One thousand starts looking like a transportation network.
Several thousand becomes something else entirely.
At that scale, the company can begin spreading fixed technology and engineering costs across a much larger number of vehicles.
The basic economic equation becomes:
Software development cost
↓
More vehicles
↓
More rides
↓
More revenue per vehicle
↓
Lower fixed cost per ride
The difficult part is reaching the scale where that equation works.
MOMENTA IS TARGETING THOUSANDS BY 2027
The company currently expects its robotaxi fleet to reach the hundreds by the end of 2026 and several thousand by the end of 2027, according to its robotaxi chief.
That is an aggressive expansion target.
And Europe is only one piece.
Momenta is also planning to enter Dubai, while Japan is another priority market.
The company is therefore building a global deployment strategy rather than treating Europe as a single destination.
THE CHIP IS PART OF THE STRATEGY TOO
Momenta is also working with chip company XHeart on processors designed specifically for autonomous driving.
The idea is simple:
If autonomous-driving computers become cheaper, deploying thousands of vehicles becomes easier.
Momenta's robotaxi chief told Reuters that the next-generation X9 chip is intended to deliver comparable computing power at significantly lower cost than equivalent Nvidia hardware.
That sounds like a technical detail.
It is actually a business-model issue.
If the computer inside every robotaxi costs less, the economics of the entire fleet improve.
THE CAR IS BECOMING A COMPUTER WITH WHEELS
This is where Momenta's strategy starts to resemble the broader AI industry.
The physical vehicle becomes the hardware.
Momenta's autonomous-driving system becomes the software.
The fleet becomes the deployment layer.
And the passenger becomes the customer.
That means the company is effectively trying to build an AI operating layer for transportation.
EUROPE ALSO GIVES CHINESE AV COMPANIES SOMETHING THEY NEED
China has enormous scale.
But a technology company that wants to become globally important cannot remain dependent on one country's market.
Europe provides:
New customers
New regulatory environments
New automotive partnerships
New driving conditions
New data
And potentially, a path toward becoming a global supplier rather than simply a Chinese autonomous-driving company.
THE COMPETITION MAY NOT LOOK LIKE TAXI COMPETITION
This is perhaps the most interesting part.
The ultimate competition may not be:
Which robotaxi gets more passengers?
It may be:
Which autonomous-driving system gets installed in more vehicles?
That would make Momenta's Mercedes, Toyota and BYD relationships extremely important.
If its software spreads through vehicle manufacturers, the robotaxi business could become only one distribution channel for the technology.
FROM ROBOTAXI TO AUTONOMOUS-DRIVING SUPPLIER
That gives Momenta a potentially unusual business structure:
Automaker software revenue
Robotaxi technology
Fleet partnerships
Operational data
Autonomous-driving infrastructure
The robotaxi is therefore not necessarily the final product.
It can be the most visible demonstration of the underlying technology.
MAACAT PERSPECTIVE
Waymo made the robotaxi feel like an American technology story.
Momenta shows that the business is becoming something much broader.
A Chinese company backed by Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and BYD is testing in Munich, targeting Dubai and discussing expansion into additional European cities while aiming for thousands of vehicles by 2027.
And the most interesting part isn't the taxi.
It is the business model behind it.
Build the autonomous software → partner with automakers → work with local fleets → connect to mobility platforms → deploy thousands of vehicles.
If that model works, Momenta doesn't need to become the next Waymo.
It could become something different:
the company whose technology quietly ends up inside many of the robotaxis that Europe eventually rides.
