Europe’s race to make autonomous ride hailing a commercial reality is moving into a new phase, with Uber expanding its partnership with Chinese autonomous driving company Pony.ai. The companies are planning to deploy more than 2,000 robotaxis across four European cities, creating one of the larger planned autonomous mobility rollouts on the continent as technology companies and traditional mobility players compete to establish early market leadership.
Expanding the Uber and Pony.ai Partnership
The expanded agreement builds on a partnership first announced in May 2025, when Uber and Pony.ai agreed to bring Pony.ai’s autonomous vehicles onto the Uber platform in international markets.
Under the model, eligible passengers using Uber can eventually be matched with Pony.ai powered autonomous vehicles, connecting Pony.ai’s self driving technology with Uber’s large ride hailing network.
The companies are now moving toward a significantly larger European deployment, with more than 2,000 vehicles planned across four cities.
The expansion reflects a shift from testing autonomous driving technology toward building commercially scalable robotaxi operations. Pony.ai has described its broader strategy as combining its autonomous driving technology and operational expertise with local partners and global mobility platforms to accelerate international deployment.
Zagreb Opens Europe’s Door
The partnership has already produced a major European milestone.
In April, Pony.ai, Uber and Croatian mobility company Verne launched commercial robotaxi services in Zagreb, making it the first commercial robotaxi service in Europe according to Pony.ai.
The initial service operates across approximately 90 square kilometres of the wider Zagreb city centre area, including Zagreb Airport. Pony.ai’s Gen 7 robotaxis are being used in the service, with Verne responsible for local operations and market readiness while Pony.ai provides its autonomous driving technology.
The Zagreb deployment gives the companies a practical operating base from which to develop their wider European strategy.
Pony.ai Targets Global Scale
Pony.ai is pursuing international expansion beyond Europe as it works to increase the number of cities and vehicles using its autonomous driving systems.
The company said in May that it expected to finish 2026 with more than 3,500 robotaxis deployed across more than 20 cities worldwide, raising its previous target as commercial operations expanded. It has already established operations or deployments across several international markets.
The company’s approach relies heavily on partnerships. Pony.ai provides its autonomous driving platform while local operators can handle fleet ownership, operations, regulatory requirements and market specific execution.
That structure allows the company to expand without having to build every local mobility operation itself.
Europe Becomes a Robotaxi Battleground
The Uber and Pony.ai expansion comes as several autonomous driving companies accelerate their European plans.
Uber is simultaneously working with other autonomous driving partners. Its partnership with WeRide is targeting robotaxi services in Madrid and Zurich, while another collaboration with Autobrains is focused on a robotaxi programme in Munich, subject to regulatory approval.
The growing number of programmes highlights the increasing competition to establish commercially viable autonomous mobility networks across major European cities.
For Uber, partnerships provide a way to add autonomous vehicles to its platform without developing a complete self driving system itself.
Building Autonomous Mobility at Scale
Pony.ai CEO and founder James Peng said the expanded agreement represents a new stage in the relationship between the two companies, combining Pony.ai’s autonomous driving technology and operational expertise with Uber’s global mobility platform.
The companies’ ambition extends beyond individual pilot programmes. Their goal is to establish sustained commercial robotaxi operations that can eventually scale across Europe and other international markets.
With more than 2,000 vehicles planned across four European cities, the expanded partnership signals that autonomous ride hailing is moving from isolated demonstrations toward a larger commercial deployment race, with Uber aiming to make robotaxis an increasingly visible part of its global mobility network.