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

Uber and Pony.ai announced plans to significantly expand their robotaxi (autonomous driving taxi) operations in Europe. The two companies will begin deployment in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, as their initial market, with plans to expand to four additional European cities. The total number of vehicles planned for deployment will reach 2,000 units.

Pony.ai is an autonomous driving technology development company based in China, and has so far focused on autonomous driving service demonstrations within China. Meanwhile, Uber does not own vehicles itself, instead adopting a model of partnering with external mobility service operators through its platform, and is taking a similar approach in the robotaxi sector. This collaboration combines Pony.ai's autonomous driving technology with Uber's ride-hailing network.

Zagreb, Croatia was selected as the initial deployment hub, from which the companies plan to gradually expand to four surrounding cities. The scale of 2,000 units represents an ambition that goes beyond a pilot demonstration phase, aiming at full-scale commercial service deployment. Specific details regarding the names of additional cities or deployment timelines remain limited in publicly available information at this time.

Regarding autonomous driving taxis, Waymo in the United States has already begun commercial service operations in San Francisco, Phoenix, and other locations, with implementation advancing in some regions. However, in Europe, differences in regulatory environments and urban infrastructure mean that commercial-scale robotaxi deployment remains in an early development stage. Against this backdrop, this announcement represents a noteworthy move toward genuine market entry in Europe.

From the perspective of Uber and Pony.ai's partnership, a clear structure emerges in which a platform company and an autonomous driving technology company divide roles and combine their respective strengths. Uber already possesses user-facing ride-hailing interfaces and an extensive network, and by integrating autonomous vehicles, there is potential for significant reduction in driver costs. For Pony.ai, this represents an opportunity to build operational experience in the European market through Uber's network.

Key points of interest moving forward include which four additional cities will be selected and how regulatory coordination will proceed in each city. Public road operation of autonomous vehicles requires approval from national and municipal authorities in each jurisdiction, and deployment schedules will be heavily influenced by regulatory compliance progress. It will be important to continue monitoring official announcements to see how realistically the 2,000-unit deployment plan will be achieved and over what timeframe.