Pony.ai, Uber & Verne: Europe’s First Commercial Robotaxis

Pony.ai, Uber and Verne have launched the first commercial robotaxi service in Europe.

The service is live in Zagreb, Croatia and at least nine robotaxis have already been deployed, operating between 7am and 9pm. 

These vehicles can each transport two passengers across key districts of the Croatian capital with plans to expand in the near future.

Uber and Lyft have also announced trial deployments in London in 2026 after the companies partnered with China's Baidu for Apollo Go robotaxis. ​​​​​​​

The first European deployment of robotaxis

The companies have deployed after on-road testing in Croatia's capital, Zagreb, using Pony.ai's Gen-7 autonomous driving system on the Arcfox Alpha T5 Robotaxi.

The Alpha T5 is an EV with 65.7kw/h battery capacity and an estimated 440km range. 

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, says: “Through a strong ecosystem of partnerships, autonomous mobility can both scale globally and more effectively.

“By bringing together Pony.ai’s proven autonomous driving technology, Verne’s operational and market expertise, and Uber’s global platform, we’re taking an important step toward making autonomous ride-hailing available to more riders in more places.”

Over time, the companies plan to expand into additional European cities and other markets, with plans to scale to a fleet of thousands of robotaxis ​over​​ ​the next few years.

Autonomous mobility

Pony.ai will provide its autonomous driving solution, Verne will act as fleet owner and service operator and Uber will integrate the service into its ride-hailing network.

Marko Pejkovic, CEO of Verne, says “Europe needs autonomous mobility that can move from testing to a real service.

“At Verne, we are bringing together the technology, platform, and operational capabilities required to make this a reality, starting in Zagreb before expanding to new markets.” 

Verne is leading the process of ensuring market readiness and obtaining European regulatory approval for these launches, while coordinating the deployment of Pony.ai's robotaxis across both Verne and Uber's networks.

Dr. James Peng, Founder and CEO of Pony.ai, says: “Partnering with Uber and Verne represents an important milestone as we continue to expand autonomous mobility globally.

“In China, our Gen-7 has achieved meaningful commercial scale, including unit economies breakeven in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, demonstrating the readiness of our technology and business model. 

“By leveraging this experience, we are well-positioned to accelerate commercialisation globally, combining our technology with Uber's global platform and Verne's role in enabling multi-market deployment, to build a scalable and sustainable autonomous mobility ecosystem.” 

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Robotaxis across the globe

China and the US have already seen deployments of robotaxis. In cities like Los Angeles, Waymo autonomous EVs are a common sight. 

Volkswagen and Uber recently announced a partnership to deploy a fleet of thousands of all-electric, fully autonomous EVs within multiple US markets over the next decade, starting in Los Angeles.

According to McKinsey, Europe has been home to more than 35 autonomous-vehicle pilots to date and the US and China each see more than 450,000 and 250,000 commercial rides per week, respectively.

China's biggest service provider is Baidu. Its Apollo Go robotaxis have also been expanded to multiple cities across the world including Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong. In partnership with Uber and Lyft, Apollo Go robotaxis are also set to trial in London in 2026.