What does 2026 have in store for mobility tech?

As we say au revoir to 2025, let’s pull out our crystal balls—or just our educated guesses—on what 2026 has in store for mobility tech.

In the electrification and autonomy spaces, 2025 brought headwinds to the EV sector, including the loss of federal tax incentives, and significant acceleration in deployments of robotaxis. What might the new year bring?

Robotaxis go global: Paul Miller, VP and principal analyst at Forrester, predicted that 2026 will be the year that robotaxis expand beyond the US and China.

“[In] 2026, we will absolutely see Chinese robotaxis in the Middle East,” he told Tech Brew. “They’re already there now and beginning to move to commercial operation any day now. And then we will also see an increasing number of robotaxis operating in Europe, as well. Uber will be in London from next year. Wayve will be in London from next year.”

Indeed, this fall saw a slew of announcements related to planned robotaxi deployments in the Middle East and Europe, including Chinese AV tech company Pony AI’s partnership with automaker Stellantis to roll out robotaxis in Europe next year, Waymo’s planned launch of a ride-hailing service in London, Chinese company WeRide’s goal of deploying 1,000 robotaxis in the Middle East, and Baidu’s planned expansion from China to Dubai.

“What’s interesting is, most of the international expansion is Chinese hardware and Chinese cars with Uber or Lyft as the software platform,” Miller said. “So an interesting fusion of American software and Chinese hardware, which obviously we won’t see in the States.”

Waymo aims to serve over 1 million fully autonomous rides per week by the end of 2026, after hitting that number on a monthly basis earlier this year. The Alphabet-owned robotaxi company is preparing to initiate operations in over 20 new cities next year.

Hybrid hype: Hybrid vehicles are poised to continue their hot streak in 2026 as the market for battery-electric vehicles navigates a rough patch.

“Legacy automakers will continue rebalancing their portfolios in 2026 as they respond to the economic climate, evolving customer preferences, and shifting EV policies,” Bill Newman, automotive industry executive advisor at SAP, said in a statement.

“With range anxiety and charging infrastructure still limiting full BEV adoption in North America, hybrids and plug-in hybrids will become the primary growth driver for the electrified segment,” he added.

At the same time, a slew of new EVs is slated to hit the market in 2026, including the BMW iX3, the Chevrolet Bolt (which is slated to be priced at under $30,000), the Rivian R2 (with a targeted starting price of $45,000), and many others.

Taking flight: Matt Whitaker, director of mobility innovation at Detroit technology hub Michigan Central, told us he expects to see an acceleration of companies using drone technology for a whole host of business purposes, from building inspections to first response, due to changes in the regulatory process for deploying unpiloted aircraft.

“A lot of the work we’re doing in the advanced aerial innovation region assumes that the government’s work related to its regulatory process around allowing for beyond-visual-line-of-sight flight is going to continue to advance to a point where it’ll move from by-[exemception]…to by-rule,” he said. “And anytime you have such a step change in the regulatory environment, we really think that becomes an unlock for technology that’s been waiting in the wings.”

“It’s not just going to be about the drone companies,” Whitaker added. “It’s going to be about all the companies whose businesses can be reinvented by what these drones do more effectively and more efficiently.”