Uber is deepening its push into autonomous ride-hailing, partnering with China’s Pony.ai to deploy 2,000 self-driving taxis across Europe, the companies announced Friday. The expansion, which also eyes the Middle East, builds on a commercial robotaxi launch in Zagreb, Croatia, that the partners say is the first such service in Europe.
The new agreement will add robotaxi service to four additional European cities, though the companies did not disclose which cities or a specific launch timeline. The announcement signals Uber’s intent to scale its autonomous vehicle footprint globally, according to CNBC.
Scaling up for commercialization
For autonomous ride-hailing to be commercially viable, fleet size is critical, the companies note. A larger vehicle fleet allows more data collection, which helps demonstrate safety to regulators and improves operational efficiency. It also makes the service more accessible to riders, encouraging broader adoption.
The partnership with Pony.ai is part of Uber’s broader strategy to become “the world’s leading commercialization platform for autonomous vehicles,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said earlier this month, according to a FactSet earnings call transcript. He added that Uber is gathering “a super set of data” to share with partners to accelerate autonomous vehicle development.
Pony.ai is scheduled to release quarterly earnings Tuesday, which may offer more details on the financial impact of these expansions.
Competitive landscape heats up
Uber’s moves come as the race to dominate robotaxis intensifies globally. Alphabet-backed Waymo remains the sector’s leader, with a fleet of roughly 5,000 vehicles, mostly in the U.S. Waymo is currently testing rides in London and reportedly registered new entities in four major EU economies in June. It also has plans for Tokyo and is engaging with officials worldwide to “lay the groundwork for global operations,” the company told CNBC.
Chinese rivals are also expanding in Europe. Baidu’s Apollo Go and WeRide are ramping up plans and tests for autonomous rides in the region. WeRide and Uber announced in June a pilot for Spain’s first robotaxi service in Madrid later this year, and the two firms already partner in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Uber is also advancing its own autonomous work in Asia. On Thursday, its Japanese subsidiary agreed with a local taxi operator to manage daily fleet operations for a robotaxi test deployment in Tokyo later this year, CNBC reported.
The flurry of announcements underscores how autonomous ride-hailing is moving from pilot projects to broader commercial rollout, with Uber positioning itself as the central platform linking operators like Pony.ai and WeRide to riders across multiple continents.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/14/uber-partners-with-chinas-ponyai-for-2000-robotaxis-in-europe.html
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