Croatia launches Europe's first robotaxis. Photo Shutterstock Verne, a maker of autonomous ride solutions aimed at adding "new layer of urban mobility in Europe", together with Pony.ai, a leading company that handles "large-scale commercialization of autonomous driving technology", oficially launched the pioneering commercial robotaxi service in Europe in Zagreb, Croatia.
"Members of the public can now book and pay for Pony.ai-powered autonomous rides through the Verne app. The service will soon also be available through the Uber app, following a recently announced strategic partnership between the three companies."
Verne explained that the new commercial service took several years to develop and required "close collaboration with regulators".
Verne CEO and co-founder, Marko Pejković: “For the first time in Europe there is a real commercial robotaxi service. People can use it and take real autonomous rides. We said we would launch in Zagreb in 2026. Today, we did. This is just the start.”
Initially, passengers will get access to "electric vehicles equipped with Pony.ai’s seventh-generation autonomous driving system" which will operate on their own via trained autonomous vehicle (AV) operators onboard during the early phase of the rollout.
Initially, the service will cover important districts of the Croatian capital, with more to join in the future.
The companies are also determined to soon make the switch to fully driverless operations, as soon as the necessary regulatory approvals are obtained.
Verne is also in talks with 11 cities across the European Union, the UK, and the Middle East, adding over 30 new cities to its list of possible destinations.
Verne also plans to deploy its purpose-built autonomous vehicle, which is a two-seat robotaxi aimed at driverless ride-hailing.
The two companies have also with Uber Technologies for its "global mobility platform".
James Peng, Founder and CEO of Pony.a: “Partnering with Uber and Verne represents an important milestone as we continue to expand autonomous mobility globally. In China, our Gen-7 has achieved meaningful commercial scale, including unit economics breakeven in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, demonstrating the readiness of our technology and business model."
"By leveraging this experience, we are well-positioned to accelerate commercialization internationally, combining our technology with Uber’s global platform and Verne’s role in enabling multi-market deployment, to build a scalable and sustainable autonomous mobility ecosystem.”