Chinese Robotaxi Firms Expand in Europe, With Zagreb Open and More Services Planned for 2027

From supervised trials to paying passengers

Chinese autonomous driving companies are moving toward public taxi services in Europe, with Pony.ai already carrying passengers in Zagreb and WeRide targeting a Danish launch in the first half of 2027. Baidu's Apollo Go began London road tests on July 28, while projects in Switzerland and Luxembourg are preparing further steps toward services that can operate without a human driver.

As of August 13, 2026, the projects are at different stages. Zagreb has opened a commercial service with trained operators in its early vehicles. London is conducting tests with safety operators inside. Denmark's proposed launch depends on regulatory approval, as do the next stages of several other European projects.

WeRide, Apollo Go and Pony.ai are entering these markets through partnerships with local mobility companies, transport operators and vehicle manufacturers. The Chinese companies bring autonomous driving technology and experience from operating in China. Their European partners bring knowledge of local roads, approval procedures, fleet management and customers.

Eighteen European Union member states signed a declaration in June supporting large scale testing areas across national borders for autonomous vehicles used in public transport, freight and logistics. The plan calls for shared approval principles and coordinated permits, potentially making it easier for companies to test in more than one country.

Robotaxis use cameras, radar, lidar and software to identify roads, other vehicles, pedestrians and traffic signs. Level 4 autonomy means a vehicle can drive without a human driver within approved areas and under defined conditions. Its permitted operation is tied to those boundaries and conditions, rather than covering every road or weather situation.

Europe's emerging market therefore involves several separate steps: adapting the technology, gaining permission to operate, organizing a dependable passenger service and eventually expanding beyond an initial operating area. The projects now taking shape show how different companies and countries are approaching those steps.

Denmark aims for an electric robotaxi service in 2027

WeRide announced a strategic partnership with Danish shared electric mobility provider GreenMobility on August 3. The companies aim to open a public robotaxi service in Denmark during the first half of 2027, provided they obtain the required approvals.

Denmark will become WeRide's first Nordic market and its sixth European market. The proposed service will use the GXR, an electric vehicle compliant with EU requirements and designed for Level 4 driving. It is based on Farizon's SuperVAN platform.

The GXR uses more than 20 sensors, including lidar, cameras with high resolution and a navigation system with high precision. These components provide the information its autonomous driving software needs to understand the vehicle's surroundings and position.

GreenMobility will contribute experience gained from running a shared electric car fleet and managing millions of trips in Denmark. WeRide will provide the vehicles and autonomous driving system. Testing and deployment are planned in cooperation with the Danish Road Directorate and Danish Transport Authority.

Kasper Gjedsted, chief executive of GreenMobility Group, said the partnership would bring the company's experience in shared vehicle operations into autonomous mobility. WeRide founder and chief executive Tony Han described the project as a model that could be repeated in other international markets.

WeRide has announced projects in several European countries, although commercial operations have yet to begin in most of them. The Danish announcement adds a proposed destination and launch period to that expansion, with approval still needed before passengers can use the service.

Zagreb provides an early commercial foothold

Pony.ai has taken the most advanced commercial step among the Chinese companies expanding in Europe. In April, it began a robotaxi service in Zagreb with Croatian mobility company Verne and Uber. Passengers can book through Verne's app, with integration into Uber's app planned for a later stage.

Pony.ai supplies the autonomous driving technology. Verne owns the fleet and handles daily operations, while Uber provides access to its global ride hailing platform. Trained operators rode in the early vehicles as the service gathered operational experience and completed its initial rollout.

The companies describe the Zagreb operation as Europe's first commercial robotaxi service open to the public. They plan to expand the fleet to thousands of vehicles over the next several years and use the Croatian capital as a base for wider European activity.

James Peng, Pony.ai's chief executive, said the partnership with Verne moved quickly because the companies were flexible and closely matched in their approach. He said Pony.ai was updating software daily during the early deployment and had seen strong use from local residents.

Peng described how the company's technology responds to the conditions it encounters on European roads:

Our model learns by itself so it adapts quickly to European driving styles and infrastructure

Peng pointed to roundabouts as one example of a road feature more common in Europe than in China. Narrow streets, historic city layouts and differences in driving customs also require the vehicles to learn from local conditions.

London combines a large market with difficult roads

Baidu's Apollo Go and Freenow, the European mobility platform owned by Lyft, began testing sixth generation RT6 autonomous vehicles in London on July 28. The initial trials are taking place in Brent, where urban and suburban roads provide different driving environments. Safety operators are currently inside the vehicles.

The partners plan to offer public rides in 2027, subject to approval. London is likely to be one of the most demanding European markets because of its dense traffic, winding streets, narrow roads and driving on the left.

London's extensive bus and rail services also affect the commercial opportunity. Passengers already have many public transport options, which may reduce the number of trips available to robotaxis. Companies must therefore solve both the driving challenge and the practical task of finding a place in the city's transport network.

European trials expose autonomous systems to a different mix of roads and behavior from the environments where Chinese companies built much of their experience. In London, even the side of the road on which vehicles travel requires adaptation from conditions in most Chinese cities.

Switzerland and Luxembourg prepare their next stages

Apollo Go is also preparing to test RT6 electric vehicles in Switzerland with public transport operator PostBus. Initial mapping trips are expected to use safety drivers and carry no passengers.

A public service called AmiGo is planned for the first quarter of 2027. The project intends to remove the vehicles' steering wheels once they receive approval for fully driverless operation. Mapping, passenger service and operation without a driver are therefore separate stages of the proposed rollout.

Pony.ai is preparing a Luxembourg project with ride hailing company Bolt and automaker Stellantis. Pony.ai will supply the autonomous driving system, Bolt will manage the customer platform, and Stellantis will provide a midsize van designed to support Level 4 driving, together with engineering and manufacturing expertise.

Luxembourg is intended to become Pony.ai's European operating and testing center. Its position within the EU could help the partners develop procedures that can later be used in other markets.

The main dates show how public operations and preparations are progressing alongside one another:

• April 2026: Pony.ai, Verne and Uber began the Zagreb robotaxi service.
• June 2026: Eighteen EU member states signed a declaration supporting testing areas across national borders.
• July 28, 2026: Apollo Go and Freenow began RT6 tests in London's Brent area.
• August 3, 2026: WeRide announced its Danish partnership with GreenMobility.
• First quarter of 2027: The AmiGo public service in Switzerland is planned to begin.
• First half of 2027: WeRide and GreenMobility aim to launch their Danish service, pending approval.
• 2027: Apollo Go and Freenow plan public rides in London, subject to approval.

Local partners turn technology into a working service

Autonomous driving companies need more than vehicles and software to enter a country. They require transport approvals, local maps and driving data, insurance arrangements, maintenance facilities, access to charging and systems for dealing with passengers and incidents.

European partners supply different parts of that operation. A ride hailing company can manage bookings and payments. A fleet operator can organize cleaning, repairs and recharging. An automaker can adapt a vehicle to local safety standards and provide production capacity.

GreenMobility's role in Denmark, Verne's fleet ownership in Zagreb and Stellantis's vehicle contribution in Luxembourg illustrate these divisions of responsibility. Each partnership brings autonomous technology together with the practical work needed to keep a transport service running.

Local companies also understand road rules and customer habits. Their experience can help an incoming technology provider work through regulatory procedures and organize a service suited to the people who will use it.

Chinese companies face questions about data storage, cybersecurity and the use of cameras and sensors in public spaces. Autonomous vehicles can collect detailed information about roads, buildings and people, making the management of that information a central issue in market approval.

European privacy rules, including the General Data Protection Regulation, require companies to control how personal information is collected and processed. Regulators may also require incident reports, system records and access to selected operating data. Companies must balance transparency with protection of their commercial systems and passenger privacy.

Peng said Pony.ai shares operational and incident information with regulators where required, while governments should decide what information becomes public. He also said the company must respect local rules and customs before it can become a trusted operator.

European roads demand local training

Chinese autonomous driving companies have gained experience in dense cities and complex traffic at home. European deployment still requires local testing because lane markings, road signs, roundabouts, weather and parking patterns differ, as does the mix of cars, bicycles, pedestrians and public transport.

Ron Zheng, a senior partner at consulting firm Roland Berger and head of its automotive practice in Asia, said companies must adapt their algorithms using local data. He said European traffic rules, road signs and mixed traffic conditions differ sharply from those in China.

Historic European centers can contain narrow lanes and irregular street patterns. Vehicles that perform well on broad roads mapped in detail may need further training to manage these conditions safely. London's driving on the left adds another technical task.

Pony.ai says its vehicles make decisions onboard and can continue operating when signals are temporarily unavailable. Companies are also learning how to operate without relying heavily on special infrastructure. This approach could make deployment less expensive, although local maps and reliable communications remain useful for monitoring vehicles and managing fleets.

Local adaptation involves both the decisions made by an individual vehicle and the systems supporting the wider service. The car must respond to the road around it, while fleet operators still need to monitor operations and organize maintenance, charging and passenger support.

American and European rivals are also moving in

Chinese firms are entering a market that attracts competitors from the United States and Europe. Waymo, owned by Alphabet, plans London trials with a small fleet and hopes to accept public riders after receiving government approval.

UK company Wayve is preparing autonomous ride trials with Uber. Volkswagen is developing the autonomous ID. Buzz AD for robotaxi and shuttle projects in Europe and the United States.

European automakers bring deep experience in vehicle production, safety certification and supply chains. Chinese technology companies have built large autonomous fleets in China and often develop software through rapid, repeated testing. The current partnerships combine these strengths, rather than assigning every part of a service to one company.

Robotaxis may also compete with robobuses. Analysts have said automated buses can be easier to deploy on fixed routes, particularly for short journeys linking train stations, transit hubs and residential areas. WeRide has conducted robobus trials in Belgium, France, Spain and Switzerland.

Forecasts for Europe's robotaxi market vary widely because regulation and public acceptance remain uncertain. A Boston Consulting Group analysis estimated that about 120,000 robotaxis could operate in European cities by 2035. BloombergNEF forecast about 17,000 vehicles in Europe by 2030, with the United Kingdom and Germany accounting for much of that number. The estimates cover different years, with the larger figure looking five years further ahead.

Approval and public trust will set the pace

European countries are gradually allowing more testing on public roads, although their national approval systems remain different. A common framework could reduce duplicated work, while each country would still need to address liability, insurance, vehicle certification, safety monitoring and data protection.

Authorities must decide how a driverless vehicle should respond after a crash, how remote support teams may intervene and who is responsible when software or hardware fails. Public services may begin within restricted areas, during limited hours and with safety operators before moving toward wider driverless operation.

European governments want investment and cleaner mobility while retaining control over sensitive data and critical technology. Chinese companies may provide mature systems at competitive prices. European partners and regulators will need safeguards against excessive dependence on any foreign supplier.

Passengers will judge robotaxis through ordinary journeys: whether a vehicle is safe, comfortable, available and affordable. Regulators will assess recorded trips, close calls, technical failures and responses to unusual situations.

Zagreb's public service, London's supervised trials and the proposed launches in Denmark and Switzerland represent different stages of the same commercial effort. Growth will depend on whether companies can adapt to local roads, satisfy authorities and deliver a reliable service beyond their initial deployments.

What to Know

• Pony.ai, Verne and Uber opened a public robotaxi service in Zagreb in April, with trained operators in the early vehicles.
• WeRide and GreenMobility aim to launch an electric robotaxi service in Denmark in the first half of 2027, pending approval.
• Apollo Go and Freenow began London tests on July 28 and plan public rides in 2027, subject to approval.
• Apollo Go and PostBus are preparing Swiss trials, with the AmiGo public service planned for the first quarter of 2027.
• Pony.ai, Bolt and Stellantis are preparing a Level 4 project centered in Luxembourg.
• Eighteen EU member states support coordinated testing across national borders, while national approval systems remain different.
• Local road conditions, fleet operations, data protection, regulatory approval and passenger trust will determine how quickly services expand.