EVwire brief: Verne has started autonomous vehicle testing in Manchester. The Croatian robotaxi company is continuing its partnership with Pony.ai and Uber in the United Kingdom.
The announcement comes a week after Verne stated it would bring its autonomous vehicles to London through Uber. This makes Manchester Uber's second UK robotaxi city after London, though no date has been set for public rides.
Verne announced the Manchester tests on LinkedIn, noting that its robotaxis have already drawn "a few curious looks" from locals:
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Pony.ai noted that Greater Manchester residents and visitors make nearly 6 million journeys every day. The company outlined how the three companies are splitting the work in Manchester:
"Pony.ai brings proven autonomous driving technology and large-scale operating experience, Uber connects us to riders through its global mobility platform, and Verne contributes its service ecosystem and operational framework. Together, we're working to make autonomous mobility accessible to more cities and communities."
Uber also announced the Manchester launch on X:
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) noted that permission to operate autonomous vehicles is granted by the UK Government, and that "no applications have been made to operate driverless taxis in Greater Manchester" so far.
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Context:
Verne, Pony.ai and Uber first teamed up in March, and Verne launched Europe's first paid robotaxi service in Zagreb a month later. Uber added Verne robotaxis to its app in August, and the Zagreb service has since logged thousands of rides, a 4.7-out-of-5 passenger rating and more than 200,000 autonomous kilometers (~124,000 miles).
In September, Verne and Pony.ai began fully driverless test rides for invited passengers on a 22-kilometer (13.7-mile) route to Zagreb's airport, with no AV operator onboard. Uber has also invested in Verne as confirmed by EVwire, while Pony.ai and Uber plan to deploy more than 2,000 robotaxis across Europe, starting in the UK with London.
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