Bolt partners with Pony.ai to launch autonomous ride services in Europe
In North America, the autonomous driving market is dominated primarily by Waymo and Tesla. Chinese providers such as Baidu, WeRide, and Pony.ai, however, have struggled to establish themselves in the US robotaxi sector. As a result, they are increasingly focusing their efforts on Europe.
For instance, Renault announced a partnership with WeRide in May last year, deploying two autonomous electric minibuses on public roads in Europe. Earlier this year, the French automaker revealed plans to expand its trials, introducing autonomous electric minibuses across multiple projects.
Stellantis is also leveraging Pony.ai’s technology. Both companies recently signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to accelerate the development and deployment of autonomous taxi solutions in Europe. Within months, the partners plan to commence testing vehicles based on the Peugeot e-Traveller in Luxembourg, where Pony.ai’s European headquarters is located.
Now, the Estonian shared mobility provider Bolt Technology announced plans to integrate Pony.ai’s Level 4 autonomous driving technology into its mobility ecosystem. However, the deal is not quite market-ready: Bolt aims to introduce driverless cars for its taxi services, but has not yet disclosed which vehicle manufacturer it will collaborate with for this initiative.
What is certain, however, is that the first phase is scheduled to begin as early as next year. This phase will focus on practical testing, safety validation, and enhancing user experience design to “establish the groundwork for fully autonomous, driverless operations.” The specific European cities where the initiative will launch remain undisclosed. Bolt has only confirmed that “target cities for the initial deployments include both EU member states and non-EU European countries.”
Markus Villig, founder and CEO of Bolt, outlined the company’s ambition to Reuters: “Bolt’s ambition is to be one of the first platforms to provide fully driverless autonomous vehicles in the EU.” The rollout is planned just one year after the commencement of practical trials.
“By combining Pony.ai’s technology with our regulatory expertise and broad European footprint, the partnership will further strengthen the presence of self-driving technology across the continent,” Bolt stated. The company attributes this rapid progress to its unique position as “the only independent, European-founded ride-hailing platform competing globally, Bolt is uniquely positioned to help scale autonomous vehicles responsibly and efficiently, in full alignment with Europe’s safety and data standards.”
According to Villig, political challenges could pose the primary obstacle. “Half of Europe’s markets are practically closed to ride-hailing because many countries haven’t issued new operating licenses for professional drivers in decades, despite shortages and huge demand,” Villig told Reuters. He warned: “Europe cannot afford to make the same mistake with autonomous vehicles.”
This article was first published by Daniel Bönnighausen for electrive’s German edition.
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