Zagreb – September 15, 2026 -- Pony.ai and Verne have begun fully driverless Robotaxi test rides with passengers on public roads in Zagreb, marking the first such deployment in Europe.
Driverless rides now run a 22-kilometer route in Zagreb
The route connects Verne's headquarters and a main business district with Franjo Tuđman Airport Zagreb. Pony.ai and Verne plan to expand fully driverless coverage over the coming months to encompass the entire operating area in Zagreb.
Commercial service has logged 200,000 kilometers since April launch
The milestone follows the April 2026 launch of Europe's first commercial Robotaxi service by Pony.ai, Verne and Uber. Under that joint deployment model, Pony.ai supplies the autonomous driving technology, Verne manages service operations, and Uber provides platform access. Since launch, the fleet has completed more than 200,000 kilometers, several thousand customer rides, and holds an average passenger rating of 4.7 out of 5.
Seventh-generation Robotaxi runs on NVIDIA DRIVE AGX hardware
The vehicles use Pony.ai's proprietary L4 domain controller built on NVIDIA DRIVE AGX, operating on the safety-certified DriveOS system with 360-degree sensor coverage and multiple redundancy layers. Pony.ai has validated the architecture through fully driverless commercial operations in four major Chinese cities, accumulating more than 100 million kilometers globally, including over 40 million kilometers in fully driverless mode.
Zagreb rides operate under Croatian regulatory approval
The driverless test rides comply with applicable Croatian regulations and required approvals for autonomous vehicle testing with passengers on public roads.
Pony.ai targets 3,500 robotaxis and 20-plus cities by year-end
The Zagreb progress advances Pony.ai's "dual-engine" strategy, scaling Robotaxi operations across China and international markets. Recent partnerships have expanded Pony.ai's overseas deployment pipeline to more than 4,000 Robotaxis, including plans with Uber to deploy over 2,000 vehicles across Europe. Pony.ai is targeting a global fleet exceeding 3,500 Robotaxis by the end of 2026, spanning more than 20 cities worldwide.
"Fully driverless passenger rides in Zagreb mark an important step in Pony.ai's international growth," said Dr. James Peng, Founder and CEO of Pony.ai.
Verne CEO Marko Pejković said the company is moving from autonomous driving with an onboard operator toward fully driverless operations, calling it a major milestone for scaling autonomous mobility in Europe.