- Uber is bringing Pony.ai’s Chinese robotaxis to four European cities.
- Neither company has named the cities or set a launch date yet.
- The Middle East is next on the expansion map after Europe.
Thousands of fully autonomous robotaxis built by Chinese company Pony.ai are headed for European roads under a new partnership with ride-hailing juggernaut Uber, a deal that gives the Chinese firm a distribution network it would have spent years assembling on its own. Europe isn’t the end of it, either, as the Middle East is next on the list.
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Pony.ai isn’t arriving as a newcomer. The company already runs paid robotaxi services across four Chinese cities and has spent more than a year working with Uber on pushing that operation beyond its home market. The two also teamed up earlier this year with Verne, the self-driving robotaxi venture backed by Mate Rimac, which is launching in Zagreb, Croatia.
Read: Rimac Sells $2 Million Hypercars, His Other Startup Charges $2 A Ride
As part of the partnership, Pony.ai will provide its Level 4 autonomous driving technology and operational expertise, and Uber will provide customer access through its app, which also handles payments. Local fleet partners may be used to run the day-to-day operations at select markets.
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The expansions will see Pony.ai’s vehicles become available in four European cities, though it’s not yet clear which cities these will be. The two companies have also yet to say when the rollout of these additional robotaxis will begin.
“This expanded agreement marks an important new phase in the partnership between Pony.ai and Uber. It reflects our shared commitment to bringing safe, reliable Robotaxi services to more European cities,” Pony.ai chief executive and founder Dr. James Peng said. “By combining Pony.ai’s proven autonomous driving technology and operational know-how with Uber’s global mobility platform and extensive market reach, we aim to build sustained commercial operations at scale across Europe and beyond.”
Of course, it’s not just in Europe where Uber is introducing robotaxis. The firm recently announced its new Oro Mobility unit, established to manage and service large fleets of autonomous vehicles and its in-house autonomous robotaxi program using Lucid vehicles with self-driving systems developed by Nuro.
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