PARIS, France Agence France-Presse / 05:15 AM June 09, 2026 — Self-driving taxis, already booming in the United States and China, are emerging in Europe, with major companies launching trials this year in several capitals and the European Union set to step on the accelerator on Monday.
In China and the United States, private fleets of “robotaxis”—driverless cars loaded with sensors—more than doubled in 2025 to reach 8,000 vehicles across more than two dozen major cities, according to a May report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Seven years behind schedule, trials will finally start across Europe over the coming months.
In France—where no trials are scheduled for the moment—planning high commissioner Clement Beaune recently criticized the EU for in his words “lagging behind.” European regulations say a “safety driver” must be on board the vehicle, their hands on their lap—as was the case in the early days of testing in China and the United States. The EU will now accelerate the process by adopting a “testbed,” a simplified testing approach that will let companies avoid having to obtain approval on a country-by-country basis. European transport ministers are set to make the decision official on Monday, Anne-Marie Idrac, the bloc’s senior official for autonomous vehicle development, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Zagreb, London, Madrid
The first trial in Europe started on April 8 in Croatia, where Chinese company Pony.ai—in partnership with US group Uber and Croatian start-up Verne, backed by the automaker Rimac—has been operating about 10 robotaxis in Zagreb.
In Madrid, the Chinese group WeRide has just announced a test with Uber.
Uber will also deploy robotaxis in Munich, using technology from the Chinese company Momenta.
In Switzerland, Apollo has partnered with Swiss Post for a pilot program in the country’s east.
Italian-French-US automaker Stellantis and Pony.ai are to conduct a test in Luxembourg.
Ride-hailing platforms Uber, Lyft and Bolt often partner in such projects.
Waymo claims it has around 3,000 driverless taxis spread across a dozen US cities, a similar number to Apollo, whose taxis are deployed in 27 Chinese cities and in Dubai.
Pony.ai has 1,700 vehicles and is targeting 3,500 by the end of 2026, compared to 1,000 for WeRide.
In China, ride-hailing platform Didi and carmaker SAIC operate robotaxis in several major cities.
In the United States, Tesla and Amazon-owned Zoox have established themselves in several cities.
By 2035, the IEA forecasts there will be between 700,000 and 3 million robotaxis in 40 to 80 major cities.
In Europe, strict safety regulations and strong public-transport culture have put the brakes on robotaxi development, according to specialist Herve de Treglode.
Credit to: https://globalnation.inquirer.net/source/agence-france-presse