Pony.ai and Uber said on August 13 that they are expanding their partnership to deploy more than 2,000 Pony.ai Robotaxis across Europe, moving well beyond their existing joint service in Zagreb, Croatia. The deal, which also plans a rollout into the Middle East, is one of the largest publicly announced commitments to autonomous ride-hail outside China and lands as European cities begin certifying driverless vehicle operations.
From one city to five, then the Middle East
The commercial service in Zagreb — operated with Croatian mobility company Verne on Uber's platform — will be joined by four additional European cities, with the specific city list still to be announced in phases. Pony.ai and Uber also confirmed plans to bring the model to the Middle East, where Pony.ai has been striking agreements with local transportation authorities. The 2,000-vehicle target represents a sharp step-up from single-city pilots and gives the collaboration a clearer path to what Pony.ai calls "commercial scale."
A three-way joint deployment model
Under the arrangement, Pony.ai provides its Level 4-certified Virtual Driver technology and rider-experience playbook; Uber contributes bookings, payments and customer service through its global platform; and day-to-day fleet operations sit with market-specific partners such as Verne. Pony.ai co-founder and CEO James Peng framed the expansion as "an important new phase," while Uber's autonomous chief Sarfraz Maredia said the plan turns "individual launches" into "repeatable commercial scale." The model lets vehicle funding and ownership shift by market, a flexibility that has become critical as regulators diverge across Europe.
Why it matters
Pony.ai has said its planned and potential deployments outside China now exceed 4,000 vehicles, and the company is racing peers such as Waymo, Baidu's Apollo Go and Wayve into European corridors. It also reinforces Uber's hybrid strategy of layering autonomous fleets on top of its human-driver network — a bet the company is doubling down on as it courts Chinese, American and European AV developers simultaneously.
Next steps
Both firms said additional details on cities, timing, vehicle counts per market, and go-live sequencing will be published in stages. Pony.ai reiterated that it has hit city-wide breakeven unit economics in multiple Chinese tier-one markets, a benchmark that will now be tested against European operating costs, insurance regimes and remote-supervision rules.
Reporting based on Uber's investor press release, PR Newswire, TechCrunch and CNBC.