Pony.ai and Uber scale Level 4 robotaxi plan to more than 2,000 vehicles across five European cities

The expansion plan

Pony.ai and Uber Technologies have set out plans to deploy more than 2,000 Level 4 autonomous robotaxis across five European cities, in one of the largest planned commercial driverless passenger-vehicle roll-outs on the continent. The plan builds on an initial pilot launched in Zagreb, Croatia, in cooperation with local mobility firm Verne, and will extend to four additional European cities that the partners have not yet named, with future expansion also signalled into the Middle East.

How the partnership is structured

Under the expanded alliance, Pony.ai is contributing its full-stack Level 4 "Virtual Driver" autonomous-driving platform, including hardware, software and rider-experience components, while Uber supplies its ride-hailing app, dispatch engine, payments infrastructure and customer support. Day-to-day operations, vehicle maintenance and local licensing are to be handled with regional fleet partners and local transport operators chosen market by market, with vehicle financing and fleet ownership arrangements varying according to local regulatory and capital conditions. Specific target cities, local partners and phased launch schedules for the wider European and Middle Eastern roll-outs are to be disclosed in later operational updates.

Where the European robotaxi service stands today

Commercial robotaxi service under the partnership is already operating in Zagreb, the Croatian capital, where Pony.ai, Uber and Verne have run paid driverless rides. The expansion announced for the additional four European cities is framed as a step up from that initial service rather than a new entry into the region, and the companies have indicated that the Middle East will be added as a subsequent phase.

Competitive context for the European push

The European deployment is part of Uber's broader multi-vendor autonomous-vehicle strategy, which already includes separate testing and commercial partnerships with Wayve, Baidu, Momenta and WeRide and sits alongside rival activity from Alphabet's Waymo in North America and parts of Asia. For Pony.ai, the overseas move is positioned as a path to commercial scale beyond the Chinese tier-one cities where the company says it has reached city-wide unit-economics break-even, using international partnerships to widen its operational footprint.

What remains to be confirmed

The partners have not disclosed the four additional European cities, the identity of the regional fleet and local transport partners, the launch sequence, or the share of the more than 2,000-vehicle total allocated to each market. Pricing, fare structure and the timing of any Middle Eastern launch have also not been detailed in the current announcements.