Uber and Pony.ai Set London Test for Gen-7 Robotaxis
Uber and Chinese autonomous-vehicle developer Pony.ai plan to begin testing Pony.ai’s Gen-7 robotaxis in London in the coming weeks. The planned service extends an expanded partnership aimed at bringing driverless ride-hailing to Europe, although the companies have not identified the fleet owner or operator for the London deployment.
The London plan follows the companies’ work in Zagreb, Croatia, where they launched an autonomous ride-hailing service in August 2026 alongside Verne. Uber and Pony.ai say they intend to deploy 2,000 robotaxis in Europe, beginning with the Croatian capital.
A partnership model built around separate roles
In Zagreb, Pony.ai provides the autonomous driving system and the Arcfox Alpha T5 robotaxi, which was developed with Chinese automaker BAIC. Verne owns and operates the fleet, while Uber supplies access to its ride-hailing network. Verne is a startup established by Rimac Group founder and chief executive Mate Rimac.
The London service is expected to use a similar division of responsibilities, but the companies have not disclosed which organisation will own and operate its vehicles. Uber and Pony.ai first partnered in May 2025 with an initial focus on the Middle East, then broadened the relationship to Europe.
London becomes a multi-partner robotaxi market
Uber will not rely on Pony.ai alone in London. It has also partnered with and invested in British self-driving startup Wayve, which plans to launch a robotaxi service in the city. The competitive setting is reflected in London robotaxi competition between Uber, Wayve and Waymo, where several robotaxi programmes are converging on the same market.
Wayve raised $1.2 billion in February 2026 from investors including Microsoft, Nvidia and Uber. That round could reach $1.5 billion through an additional $300 million from Uber, contingent on Wayve deploying robotaxis starting in London.
Uber has adopted comparable multi-partner arrangements elsewhere. In Dubai, it has separate agreements with Baidu and WeRide for robotaxi launches. Across its wider autonomous strategy, Uber has struck deals with more than 30 autonomous-vehicle companies and expects to offer AV trips in as many as 15 cities globally by the end of 2026, split roughly between US and international markets.
What the London tests mean for operators
Pony.ai already operates robotaxi services in four Chinese cities and is pursuing expansion in Europe and the Middle East, including Qatar. For mobility businesses, the London tests underline the need to distinguish the roles of autonomous-driving supplier, vehicle provider, fleet operator and customer platform when assessing a robotaxi proposition.