UBER Stock Reverses Despite U.K. Robotaxi Rollout

It might not get James Bond’s pulse going but self-driving cars are coming to British streets thanks to Uber Technologies (UBER).

Playing Catch-Up

Uber, whose stock reversed 1% on the news, said it was teaming up with U.K.-based autonomous vehicle technology firm Wayve to launch a fully driverless robotaxi service in London in the coming years.

It follows the U.K. government’s decision to accelerate the framework for self-driving commercial pilots to spring 2026 from late 2027 as the nation tries to play catch-up with the U.S. and other companies in Europe when it comes to self-driving.

Wayve and Uber did not reveal when they would begin their trials and launch their service. They also failed to provide any details on how many vehicles they would be using or which vehicle manufacturer partner or partners they would use.

However, Wayve did reveal earlier this year that it will install its software into cars made by Japan’s Nissan (NSANY) from 2027 to start the engine on its international expansion plans.

Defining Moment

The announcement followed Uber’s strategic investment into Wayve in 2024 that promised to see the startup’s AI integrated into consumer vehicles that will one day operate on Uber’s platform.

A Wayve spokesperson told the website TechCrunch that the companies would start in the U.K. capital and scale out to greater London and then into the heart of the country.

“This is a defining moment for U.K. autonomy,” Alex Kendall, Wayve’s CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. “With Uber and our global OEM partner, we’re preparing to put our AI Driver technology into real service on the streets of London, delivering on our AV2.0 vision for scalable autonomy.”

Uber faces huge competition in the market with Tesla (TSLA) and Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Waymo also on track with their plans. But it is a market worth driving towards given that, according to reports, the global robotaxi sector will soar from $2.77 billion in 2024 to $188.91 billion by 2034.

Is UBER a Good Stock to Buy Now?

On TipRanks, UBER has a Strong Buy consensus based on 29 Buy and 4 Hold ratings. Its highest price target is $115. UBER stock’s consensus price target is $98.61 implying a 15.20% upside.

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