Uber and Pony.ai Plan 2,000 Robotaxis Across Europe

Uber and Pony.ai announced Friday they will deploy more than 2,000 robotaxis across Europe and expand their collaboration into the Middle East, marking a significant scale-up of their autonomous vehicle partnership.

The companies plan to add four European cities beyond their existing commercial service in Zagreb, Croatia, though they have not disclosed which cities or provided a launch timeline. Details will be released incrementally, according to the announcement.

How the partnership works

The collaboration divides responsibilities across three parties. Pony.ai provides its Level 4 autonomous driving technology and operational expertise. Uber supplies its ride-hailing platform, handling booking, payment, and customer support functions. Local partners in each market manage fleet operations including vehicle maintenance and charging.

Vehicle ownership structures may vary depending on the market, the companies said.

"By combining Pony.ai's proven autonomous driving technology and operational know-how with Uber's global mobility platform and extensive market reach, we aim to build sustained commercial operations at scale across Europe and beyond," said Dr. James Peng, Pony.ai's founder and CEO.

Why it matters

This expansion represents a shift from pilot programs to commercial-scale deployment in autonomous ride-hailing. Uber is positioning itself as a platform for multiple AV providers rather than developing its own technology, a strategy that could accelerate adoption across diverse regulatory environments. For Pony.ai, the partnership offers access to Uber's established customer base and operational infrastructure in markets where building from scratch would be costly and time-intensive.

Building on Zagreb launch

The two companies first partnered in May 2025, focusing on international markets. Earlier this year, they launched what they describe as Europe's first commercial robotaxi service in Zagreb alongside Verne, a Croatian mobility company that owns and operates the local fleet.

Pony.ai currently runs fully driverless, paid robotaxi services in four Chinese cities, where it claims to have achieved city-wide breakeven unit economics in multiple markets.

Sarfraz Maredia, Uber's global head of autonomous mobility and delivery, said the goal is moving "from individual launches to repeatable commercial scale."

Uber's broader AV strategy

The Pony.ai expansion is part of Uber's wider push into autonomous vehicles across Europe. The company has announced a robotaxi program in Munich with Israeli startup Autobrains Technologies and Nvidia. Separately, Uber and Wayve received regulatory approval from Transport for London to offer supervised autonomous rides in the British capital.

At a recent earnings call, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi described the company's ambition as becoming "the world's leading commercialization platform for autonomous vehicles," according to CNBC.

Pony.ai is scheduled to release quarterly earnings on Tuesday.

These details were first reported by AI Watch.