Autonomous Driving: Pony.ai brings robotaxis to Zagreb
Which city in Europe is getting the first robotaxis? Pony.ai, Verne and Uber claim it is the Croatian capital Zagreb.
Autonomous taxi in Zagreb
(Image: Pony.ai)
Croatia is the first country in Europe to get a commercial service with autonomous taxis. This was announced by the US ride-hailing service Uber, the Chinese robotaxi company Pony.ai, and the Croatian start-up Verne. The robotaxis are to be used first in the capital, Zagreb.
The vehicles are Alpha T5 from the Chinese manufacturer Arcfox, which Pony.ai equips with its autonomous driving system, as the Chinese company announced. Verne will own and operate the fleet, Uber will integrate the offering into its app and market the service together with Verne.
Pony.ai is already testing the robotaxis in Zagreb. However, there is no launch date for the regular service yet. After the launch in Zagreb, the three companies want to offer the service in other European cities as well.
Robotaxis for Europe
In addition to Pony.ai, other autonomous taxi providers are also aiming for Europe: Alphabet subsidiary Waymo announced a launch in London this year in autumn 2025. US ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft are also heading to the British capital, as is the British company Wayve.
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The Estonian ride-hailing service provider Bolt is cooperating on the one hand with Pony.ai, and on the other hand with the automotive group Stellantis, for services in Europe, but has not yet specified where. The Volkswagen subsidiary Moia has been testing autonomous driving in Hamburg for some time with the autonomous ID. Buzz AD and with an autonomous minibus from the Paderborn-based company Holon. The Lyft subsidiary Freenow also wants to bring autonomous taxis to the Hanseatic city.
(wpl)