Mercedes, Momenta and Lumo launch robotaxi fleet in Abu Dhabi

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Mercedes-Benz has announced a new robotaxi initiative in Abu Dhabi together with Momenta, a China-based autonomous driving company, and Lumo, a national taxi operator in the United Arab Emirates. The partners plan to introduce a fleet of fully autonomous robotaxis built on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class platform, with commercial operations scheduled to start in 2026. Further expansion into additional global markets is planned.

The project centres on what the partners describe as the first scalable luxury robotaxi concept based on a series-production vehicle. By combining Mercedes-Benz’s premium vehicle platform with SAE Level-4 autonomous driving technology from Momenta and Lumo’s local operating ecosystem, the initiative aims to establish a new benchmark for high-end automated mobility.

Mobility + AI 2026: Trust, Technology and Regulation

14–15 April 2026, Mobility Innovation Campus, Technical University of Munich and IABG, Ottobrunn, Munich.

The conference will bring together global experts from OEMs, technical service providers, insurers, technology providers and regulatory bodies.

The focus: Coordinating validation and regulation in the AI age of software-defined vehicles so that business cases in Europe can now be implemented quickly. 

Key takeaways:

- AI accelerates the path to automated driving functions from L2+ to L4.

- Robotaxis and autonomous logistics systems are scalable in real environments.

- New methods for validation and digital twins secure AI systems. 

- Safety, cybersecurity and regulation will form the basis of every vehicle architecture.

- SDV, AI engineering and OTA updates will define the future of vehicle development.

- Trust is built through HMI, UX and transparent communication of autonomous systems.

The registration link for the event is https://www.mobility-ai-conference.com/tickets/.

H.E. Faisal Abdulaziz Al Bannai, Advisor to the UAE President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs and Secretary General of ATRC, emphasised the strategic importance of the collaboration: “This partnership between Mercedes, Momenta, and Lumo reflects the highest standards of engineering and autonomous intelligence. Bringing these strengths together here in the UAE is no coincidence — the nation offers the ideal environment to test, refine, and showcase the future of mobility.“

German engineering meets Chinese AI

The partnership with Momenta builds on a relationship that dates back several years. The German OEM became the first international carmaker to invest in the Chinese AI company in 2017, signalling an early commitment to data-driven autonomous driving development.

Momenta brings its latest reinforcement-learning technology into the project. According to the Chinese company, the robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi will be powered by its R6 model, which is designed to support scalable, high-level automated driving.

Prior to the Abu Dhabi initiative, Mercedes-Benz and Momenta had already worked together in China. There, the companies launched an intelligent driving assistance system based on Momenta’s so-called Flywheel model, covering highway driving, urban traffic and parking scenarios within a single system. The technology debuted in the fully electric Mercedes-Benz CLA introduced in November and is expected to roll out to additional models over time.

A scalable strategy for robotaxi deployment

Momenta attributes its rapid progress in autonomous driving to what it calls a “Flywheel & Two Leg Strategy”. The approach links mass-production advanced driver assistance systems with scalable robotaxi development through a shared data and software architecture. By using the same sensor setup and core software for both Level-2 and Level-4 functions, the company aims to shorten development cycles and accelerate commercial deployment.

The Abu Dhabi project is part of a broader international expansion. In September, Momenta and Uber announced Munich as the first city for their joint robotaxi programme, with testing expected to begin in 2026. In parallel, Momenta is preparing to launch a fully driverless robotaxi fleet in Shanghai, with trial operations planned to start later this year.

With Abu Dhabi now added to the roadmap, the collaboration between Mercedes-Benz, Momenta and Lumo highlights how premium vehicle platforms, AI-driven autonomy and region-specific operating models are converging to bring robotaxi services closer to large-scale deployment.

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