The ride-hailing giant and Chinese operator plan 2,000 self-driving taxics in Europe, with Middle East expansion to follow. Fleet scale and regulatory data are key to the push.
Uber is deepening its bet on autonomous ride-hailing. The company partnered with Chinese operator Pony.ai to deploy 2,000 self-driving taxis across Europe, with plans to expand the service to the Middle East, the firms said Friday.
The announcement follows a commercial robotaxi launch in Zagreb, Croatia, in late March – the companies said it was the first such service in Europe. The new rollout will cover four additional European cities, though Uber and Pony.ai did not name them or set a precise timeline.
Fleet scale is a central constraint in the robotaxi business. More vehicles mean more miles, which means more data to prove safety to regulators and improve operational efficiency. A larger fleet also makes the service more convenient for riders, boosting adoption.
Alphabet-backed Waymo leads the field with roughly 5,000 vehicles, almost all in the U.S. It is testing rides in London and, according to a statement to CNBC, set up entities in four major EU economies in June. Waymo also has plans in Tokyo and is speaking with officials globally to "lay the groundwork for global operations."
Chinese rivals Baidu Apollo Go and WeRide are pushing into Europe as well. WeRide and Uber in June announced plans to launch a robotaxi pilot in Madrid later this year, the first in Spain. The two already partner in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Uber on Thursday said its Japanese subsidiary signed an agreement with a local taxi operator to manage daily fleet operations for a robotaxi test in Tokyo later this year.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told analysts earlier this month that Uber's goal is "to become the world's leading commercialization platform for autonomous vehicles." Part of that strategy, he said, is gathering "a super set of data" to share with partners and accelerate development.
Pony.ai is scheduled to report quarterly earnings Tuesday.
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