EVwire brief: Pony.ai is bringing its Gen-7 robotaxis to London through its partnership with Uber, with testing expected to start in the coming weeks.
London brings the Pony.ai and Uber partnership to the UK. The two companies already offer robotaxi rides in Zagreb, Croatia, through local partner Verne, and they plan to deploy more than 2,000 Pony.ai robotaxis across Europe.
Pony.ai has not shared a timeline for public rides in London yet. For now, the company said it will work with local and national government officials, as well as its partners, as it moves toward self-driving trials under the UK's leading AV regulations.
Pony.ai shared the news on LinkedIn:
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The company also described London as the next step in its global expansion with Uber:
"By combining Pony.ai's proven autonomous driving technology and large-scale operating experience with Uber's global mobility platform and local market reach, we are advancing a scalable model for autonomous mobility across international markets."
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Context:
London follows Zagreb, where riders can already book Pony.ai-powered robotaxis through the Uber app with local partner Verne. Uber added Verne robotaxis to its Zagreb app in August, and in September, Verne and Pony.ai began fully driverless test rides for invited passengers on a 22-kilometer (13.7-mile) route linking the city center with Zagreb's airport.
Pony.ai and Uber also expanded their partnership in August with plans to deploy more than 2,000 robotaxis across Europe, targeting four more European cities beyond Zagreb. Uber has since invested in Verne, as Verne CEO Marko Pejković confirmed to EVwire earlier this week.
Source: Pony.ai on LinkedIn
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