Robotaxi Expansion Accelerates
Pony.ai and Uber Plan Major Robotaxi Rollout Across Europe by May 2025
Chinese autonomous driving company Pony.ai and Uber have announced plans to jointly deploy over 2,000 robotaxis across Europe and the Middle East, according to Reuters. The partnership, which dates back to May 2025, will expand beyond an existing commercial robotaxi service in Zagreb, Croatia, to four additional European cities.
No completion timeline was given for the full rollout. The deal marks one of the largest announced autonomous vehicle deployments outside of China and the United States.
How the Pony.ai and Uber Partnership Works
Pony.ai builds and operates the self-driving vehicles. Uber provides the ride-hailing platform that connects passengers to those cars. Reuters reported the two companies first formed this partnership in May 2025. Zagreb, Croatia's capital, served as the launch city for their first commercial robotaxi service in Europe.
The expanded deal calls for deploying more than 2,000 robotaxis across four unnamed European cities, plus markets in the Middle East. Pony.ai has not disclosed which cities or countries will come next.
Zagreb Serves as Europe's Robotaxi Testing Ground
Croatia's capital was chosen as the first European city to host Pony.ai's commercial robotaxi fleet. The Zagreb service is already running and carrying paying passengers. It gives Pony.ai real-world data on how its vehicles handle European roads, traffic rules, and weather.
Starting in one city before scaling to four more follows the same playbook Pony.ai used in China. The company currently operates robotaxi services in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.
Pony.ai Pushes Hard Into Global Markets
Pony.ai went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange in late 2024. The company is backed by Toyota and has raised billions of dollars to scale its autonomous driving technology. Expanding into Europe and the Middle East is a key part of its growth strategy outside China, according to Yahoo Finance.
The move puts Pony.ai in direct competition with Waymo, which is owned by Google's parent company Alphabet. Waymo currently operates robotaxis in several US cities but has not yet launched in Europe.
Robotaxis Face Regulatory Hurdles Across Europe
Deploying self-driving cars in Europe is not simple. Each country sets its own rules for autonomous vehicles. Getting approval to run driverless taxis on public roads can take months or even years. Pony.ai has not said how it plans to handle different regulations across multiple countries.
The lack of a firm timeline for the 2,000-vehicle rollout likely reflects those regulatory challenges. Still, the scale of the announcement signals that both Pony.ai and Uber are betting big on autonomous ride-hailing becoming a mainstream service in Europe within the next few years.
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