Pony.ai and Uber Partner to Bring 2,000 Robotaxis to Europe

Chinese autonomous vehicle maker Pony AI and Uber plan to bring 2,000 robotaxis to four cities in Europe as part of an expanded partnership.

The announcement illustrates the growing ambitions of both companies to carve out market share in the nascent robotaxi industry. Uber has partnered with more than 30 autonomous vehicle companies, including Pony.ai, over the past several years. Pony.ai, meanwhile, has launched in four Chinese cities and has locked in partnerships with local transportation authorities in an effort to bring its robotaxis to European and Middle Eastern countries, including Qatar.

Uber and Pony.ai didn’t share a timeline for when these robotaxis would be deployed, or name the cities in which they’d launch, only saying that details would be revealed in phases. The companies’ now-expanded partnership does appear to have cleared up some of the terms, with Pony.ai’s “joint-deployment model” getting a clearer path to commercial scale.

This means that the Guangzhou, China-based company will supply the autonomous vehicle technology, while Uber will provide its vast ride-hailing platform. Fleet management, which would include maintenance, cleaning, and charging, can be handled by a local provider, according to the companies, and the robotaxi fleet may be owned by different partners depending on the market.