Pony.ai and Verne begin driverless test rides on Zagreb's airport route

Pony.ai and Verne begin driverless test rides on Zagreb's airport route

10 September 2026: Pony.ai and Verne have begun fully driverless robotaxi test rides with passengers in Zagreb, which the companies describe as a European first. The rides run for 22 km between Verne's headquarters and a business district on one end and Franjo Tuđman Airport on the other, with riders reaching the cars through the Uber platform.

A route to the airport

The route links Verne's headquarters and a main business district to the airport, and the companies say they plan to extend the driverless routes over the next few months to cover Zagreb's whole operating area.

The rides follow Croatian regulations and the approvals required for autonomous vehicle testing with passengers on public roads. The announcement came just over five months after Pony.ai, Verne and Uber announced the partnership that began the commercial service.

Who does what

Pony.ai provides the autonomous driving technology, Verne runs the service operations, and Uber gives access to the service on its platform. Verne is the fleet owner and operator.

On 20 August, riders in Zagreb became the first in Europe to book an autonomous vehicle through the Uber app. They request UberX or Comfort, and the app shows vehicle information and trip instructions when an autonomous vehicle is available. The service covers key areas including the city centre, from 07:00 to 21:00, with a licensed operator on board at launch and fully driverless operation planned for the future. Zagreb is the first market under the partnership, and details on the next markets will follow later this year.

Verne's starting point

Verne launched its service in early April 2026, and the figures it reports for the period before driverless testing began are concrete: more than 200,000 km driven, several thousand rides and an average rating of 4.7 out of 5. Verne is named after Jules Verne and says it has worked on autonomous ride-hailing in complex urban settings since 2019, through operations, integration and regulatory work.

Marko Pejkovic, the chief executive of Verne, said on 20 August: "This is an important milestone not only for Verne, but also for Croatia."

The vehicle and its brain

The cars are Pony.ai's seventh-generation robotaxi. Its Level 4 domain controller is built on NVIDIA DRIVE AGX and runs the safety-certified Halos OS. The system has 360-degree sensor coverage, multiple layers of redundancy and fail-operational capability, meaning it is meant to keep working safely after a component fault rather than stop. Pony.ai says the architecture has been validated in fully driverless commercial operations in major Chinese cities, including complex traffic and adverse weather.

Dr. James Peng, Pony.ai's founder and chief executive, said: "Fully driverless passenger rides in Zagreb mark an important step in Pony.ai's international growth".

Pony.ai's scale

Pony.ai describes a dual-engine strategy that scales robotaxis in China and abroad, and gives these figures about itself:

• driverless commercial service in four major Chinese cities;
• more than 100 million km of autonomous operations worldwide, of which more than 40 million km fully driverless;
• an overseas pipeline of more than 4,000 robotaxis, including plans with Uber for over 2,000 vehicles in Europe;
• a target of more than 3,500 robotaxis globally and more than 20 cities by the end of 2026.

The Uber agreement of 14 August extends the Zagreb service to four more European cities and includes plans for the Middle East.

Company profile on TrustList: Pony.ai

Related on TrustList:

• Pony.ai says Doha robotaxi pilot passed the ministry's review
• Wayve wins TfL licences and starts carrying London's Uber riders
• Spain issues its first national Level 4 permit to WeRide, Uber and AVOMO

Sources

• Pony.ai: Pony.ai and Verne kick off fully driverless robotaxi test rides in Zagreb, 10 September 2026
• Pony.ai: Riders in Zagreb become the first in Europe to book an AV through Uber, 20 August 2026
• Pony.ai: Pony.ai and Uber expand partnership to deploy over 2,000 robotaxis in Europe, 14 August 2026