Pony.ai CFO Leo Wang on Robotaxi Scale, Zagreb Driverless First and Uber's 2,000-Car Europe Goal
Pony.ai's co-founder and CFO explains how the company scaled fare-charging driverless rides in China and is now testing a partner-based model in Europe, starting with fully driverless rides in Zagreb.
- ~1,900 vehicles
- More than 2,000 Robotaxis across five cities
- At least around 100, ideally several hundred
- 2016
What Happened
Pony.ai co-founder and CFO Leo Wang discussed the company's Robotaxi progress in China and its international expansion in an interview with the etn show, covering its nearly decade-long development and the rollout of its seventh-generation Robotaxi. Pony.ai was founded in 2016 and China remains its home market, with its largest markets in the tier-one cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. It began rolling out the seventh-generation Robotaxi last year, and hundreds of vehicles in the fleet already provide commercial, fare-charging services in major cities. Wang said the company is also exploring opportunities in international markets.
~1,900vehicles
As of June 30, 2026, the majority of them in China, with hundreds already running commercial, fare-charging services.
Pony.ai began working with its partner Verne.
Pony.ai and Verne started deploying vehicles on public roads in Zagreb and accumulated local mileage to show the technology could operate safely on European roads.
Uber joined the collaboration, creating a three-party model between Pony.ai, Verne and Uber that began providing a commercial Robotaxi service in Zagreb, Europe's first.
Pony.ai and Verne announced fully driverless Robotaxi test rides with passengers on public roads in Zagreb, a European first.
- In China Pony.ai operates services itself and works directly through the permitting process; internationally it favors having a local partner involved.
- Regulators may prefer local involvement, and partners understand the market, know how to work with regulators, help set the pace of deployment and handle public communication.
- Chinese tier-one cities generally have younger, technology-oriented populations more willing to try new services, and supporting infrastructure such as electric-vehicle charging is relatively mature.
- Pony.ai provides the autonomous driving technology and acts as the AI driver provider.
- A local company may manage fleet ownership, maintenance and daily operations.
- A mobility platform provides access to passengers.
- Zagreb is the first test of this model.
“While Robotaxi testing is taking place in several European cities, most programs still have a safety operator onboard. We are therefore very pleased to be part of this fully driverless milestone in Europe.”
Under the joint deployment model, the ride-hailing platform or local operating company generally owns the vehicle assets, so the vehicle capex sits with those partners, while Pony.ai sells vehicles to a participating party and takes a share of the gross transaction value generated by the mobility service. Wang described the vehicle owner as effectively hiring an AI driver instead of a human driver, which creates recurring revenue throughout the vehicle's operating life. On scale, he said a city needs at least around 100 vehicles to begin creating meaningful service density and ideally several hundred, because passengers who wait 15 minutes may not consider it a good service. Pony.ai and Uber have announced plans to deploy more than 2,000 Robotaxis across five European cities, with Zagreb one of them and further details to be announced in phases.
Previously from Pony.ai Inc.
Earlier in September, Pony.ai and Verne began fully driverless Robotaxi test rides with passengers on public roads in Zagreb along a 22-kilometer route to Franjo Tuđman Airport Zagreb, a European first. In August, Zagreb became the first European city where riders could book an autonomous ride through the Uber app, powered by Pony.ai and operated by Verne. Also in August, Pony.ai reported that its Robotaxi revenue rose 691.2% year on year in the second quarter as its fleet, domestic coverage and overseas deployment pipeline expanded.
- Pony.ai and Verne Start Fully Driverless Robotaxi Test Rides in Zagreb
- Uber launches first autonomous rides in Europe via Pony.ai and Verne in Zagreb
- Pony.ai reports 691% Robotaxi revenue growth in Q2
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Pony.ai Inc.'s official releases.
Why this matters
Robotaxi deployment is moving from single-city pilots toward multi-city commercial services, and Pony.ai's joint deployment model shows how an autonomous-driving company can expand abroad without owning the cars. That matters for riders who may book driverless trips, for local fleet operators and mobility platforms such as Uber that supply vehicles and customers, and for regulators deciding how quickly to allow the services. Pony.ai says public acceptance and regulatory readiness still have to be built city by city through local experience.
Terms in This Story
- Robotaxi
- A driverless vehicle that provides paid ride-hailing service to passengers.
- Safety operator
- A human in the vehicle who can take over driving while an autonomous system is being tested or deployed.
- Fleet density
- The number of vehicles available in a city, which determines how quickly a passenger can be picked up.
- Take rate
- A percentage cut of the revenue a service generates that the technology provider receives.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.