Zagreb has a fleet of self-driving cars already on the road. The vehicles are ArcFox Alpha T5 robotaxis running Pony.ai’s Gen-7 autonomous driving system, operated by Croatian startup Verne and bookable through Uber.
The partnership. Three companies, three roles: Pony.ai provides the autonomous stack, Verne owns the fleet and holds European regulatory approvals, Uber integrates the service into its app and has taken a strategic investment stake in Verne. On-road testing is live in Zagreb; fare-charging launch is being prepared.
The vehicle. Verne is running the ArcFox Alpha T5, a compact electric SUV from BAIC’s ArcFox brand, fitted with Pony.ai’s Gen-7 autonomous driving hardware. Pony.ai says the Gen-7 has reached unit-economics breakeven in China.
Scale targets. Verne plans to grow to thousands of vehicles in Zagreb and expand to additional European cities. No specific city names or timelines have been announced.
What they said.
- Dr. James Peng, Pony.ai CEO: “In China, our Gen-7 has achieved meaningful commercial scale, including unit economics breakeven.”
- Marko Pejkovic, Verne CEO: “Europe needs autonomous mobility that can move from testing to a real service.”
- Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO: “Through a strong ecosystem of partnerships, autonomous mobility can both scale globally and more effectively.”
No pricing or launch date for commercial fares has been set.
