China’s Pony AI to deploy 2,000 Robotaxis in Europe

Uber's tie-up with Pony AI is the first to introduce fare-charging robotaxi service in Europe, in Zagreb

A Pony AI autonomous taxi in Shenzhen, China. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

Thu, 13 Aug, 2026 - 14:55

Pony AI Inc. said it plans to deploy more than 2,000 robotaxis across Europe in partnership with Uber Technologies Inc., accelerating the race to commercialize autonomous-mobility in the region.

The initiative will deepen an existing partnership between the two companies in Croatia’s Zagreb since early this year, and see them expand to four additional cities in the continent, Pony AI said in a statement Friday. It said more details about the rollout, which will also include the Middle East, will be announced later.

The expansion comes on the heels of Uber’s tie-up with Wayve Technologies Ltd. securing permits to run a supervised robotaxi service in London. The US company is also testing a separate autonomous-mobility program in the UK capital under a partnership with Baidu Inc.

Uber in recent months has faced doubts from investors over its driverless car technology as Waymo expands rapidly in the US and has also ventured into Tokyo in Japan and London in the UK. News of Waymo exploring options to exit the existing and exclusive robotaxi partnership with Uber sent its share price plummeting, adding to a 20% slump from a record high in October last year.

But the ride-hailing giant has inked a pact with a series of other partners as its focus turns global. Some of those are making progress in key markets like London, and its tie-up with Pony AI is the first to introduce fare-charging robotaxi service in Europe, in Zagreb.

The expansion also underscores Pony AI’s global ambition amid the months-long suspension of robotaxi licenses back home in China — the result of a safety review triggered by an outage of Baidu’s vehicles. While approval has restarted, the resumption seems to be gradual and could slow the deployment of new vehicles.

Pony AI and its peers have accelerated overseas rollout instead, with WeRide recently forming a partnership with Denmark’s GreenMobility to deploy autonomous vehicles in the Nordic country in 2027. Momenta Global Ltd, which also has a partnership with Uber, became the first Asian company to obtain a license to test robotaxis in Germany.

Bloomberg