Uber and the Chinese company Pony.ai want to deploy more than 2000 driverless robotaxis in Europe. The service is set to expand from the Croatian capital Zagreb, where it is already operating commercially, to four other European cities. So far, both companies have not disclosed specific locations or a start date.
Pony.ai provides the technology, Uber the booking system
The expanded partnership follows a clear role model: Pony.ai brings the self-driving Level 4 technology and the vehicles, while Uber integrates the service through its existing app and takes care of booking, payment, and customer service. A local partner operates the fleet on-site. In Zagreb, the Croatian mobility company Verne takes on this role as the vehicle owner and operator.
Level 4 means that the vehicles operate in a defined operational area without the intervention of a safety driver. Pony.ai, listed on Nasdaq, previously gained this operational experience mainly in Chinese metropolises and is now gradually transferring it to international markets. By the end of 2025, the company’s fleet reportedly numbered 1,159 vehicles, and it aims to grow to 3,000 by the end of 2026 – a target figure that is not independently verified. According to the companies, the expansion to four additional European cities will be announced in several phases, but neither has provided fixed dates yet.
The Middle East is also part of the expansion plans but is already further along than the new European push. Since 2025, Pony.ai has been testing with a permit from the RTA traffic authority in Dubai and is cooperating with the provider Mowasalat in Qatar. By 2028, the company aims to have 1,000 robotaxis there, a target figure that indicates the scale at which the European plans could also potentially operate.
Zagreb serves as a blueprint for the expansion
Commercial operation in Zagreb started at the end of March 2026 and is considered by both companies to be the first fully driverless robotaxi service in Europe. The operational area covers roughly 90 square kilometers of the wider city center, including the airport, and the service runs daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. It is now meant to serve as a template for the expansion to other cities, though Uber and Pony.ai have not yet specified how many vehicles are currently in operation there.
Internationally, competition for autonomous ride services keeps growing. Just in early August, Amazon’s subsidiary Zoox launched its first paid robotaxi operation in Las Vegas with vehicles that have no steering wheel or pedals, backed by a waiver from the US federal agency NHTSA. Unlike Zoox, which takes full responsibility for the vehicles and operations, Pony.ai relies on partners like Uber for the customer interface and on local fleet operators like Verne for daily operations.
Pony.ai is just one of several providers Uber is working with to build out its Uber Autonomous Solutions division, founded in February. According to its own statements, the ride-hailing company cooperates with more than 30 companies for autonomous driving and aims to offer robotaxi rides in more than ten countries and 15 cities by the end of 2026. In Germany, Uber is currently testing not with Pony.ai but with the Chinese provider Momenta in Munich – a sign that a potential German location for the new European fleet remains open.
Chinese providers expand into Europe despite political tensions
The move comes at a time when Chinese robotics and AI companies are increasingly pushing into foreign markets while facing growing political resistance in the US. At the end of July, the US agency FCC banned new humanoid and quadruped robots from China from the US market. That affects a different market segment than robotaxis, but it illustrates the broader tension between the American and Chinese robotics industries.
Europe is still seen as more accessible for Chinese providers. The EU is negotiating its own export controls and safeguards for critical AI technology, as the growing rivalry over frontier AI between the US and China shows, but no comparable restrictions currently exist for autonomous ride services. Whether individual EU states or municipalities will erect their own approval hurdles for Pony.ai vehicles remains to be seen.
What matters now is which four cities Uber and Pony.ai actually name, and whether one of them is in Germany. Only with concrete dates and prices will it become clear whether the announcement amounts to more than a statement of intent – comparable announcements about Middle East plans have likewise stayed without a timeline so far.
