Europe's First Robotaxi Just Launched — And It's Not Where You'd Expect
Nobody had Zagreb on their bingo card. Yet here we are — Croatia's capital just became the home of Europe's very first commercial robotaxi service, and it's already picking up real passengers.
The company behind it is Verne, a Croatian startup backed by Rimac (yes, the same people building some of the world's fastest electric hypercars). Their partners? Pony.ai for the autonomous driving technology, and Uber integration coming very soon.
So What Does This Actually Look Like?
Right now, at least 10 robotaxis are on Zagreb's streets, running from 7am to 9pm across key districts of the city. The car is the Arcfox Alpha T5 electric vehicle, with Pony.ai's self-driving system doing all the work. You can fit 2 passengers per ride, no pets allowed for now, and the promotional price is just €1.99 per ride.
Yes, under two euros to ride in a fully autonomous car. Wild.
Why Zagreb? Why Now?
This is actually smarter than it sounds. European cities are old, narrow, full of cyclists, and nothing like the grid-based layouts that made early AV testing easy in places like Phoenix or San Francisco. Cracking Zagreb means you're proving the technology works in genuinely complex, real-world conditions.
On top of that, Verne is building something that doesn't get talked about enough — the fleet management and operations layer. Everyone focuses on the AI driving software, but someone has to manage the actual cars on the ground. Verne is positioning itself as that backbone for Europe.
And then there's the regulatory side. The EU is a fragmented mess of different rules country by country. Every successful commercial launch like this one helps unlock the next city, and the next country. Verne is leading that regulatory push, which gives them a serious home-field advantage.
The Rimac Connection
If you follow the automotive world, you know Rimac. They backed Verne, and their success story is a big reason Croatia is emerging as a genuine tech hub for mobility. Marko Pejković, Co-Founder and CEO of Verne, put it simply: "For the first time in Europe there is a real commercial robotaxi service. People can use it and take real autonomous rides."
That's not hype. That's history.
What Comes Next?
Uber integration is on the way, which will make Verne's robotaxis bookable through an app hundreds of millions of people already use. The service will expand to more districts, prices will eventually go up from the €1.99 promo rate, and if things go well in Zagreb, other European cities won't be far behind.
The race for autonomous mobility in Europe has officially started — and a Croatian company just took the first lap.