Owl Auto (ID:owlauto) reports, on October 8, autonomous driving company Pony.ai and global mobility platform Uber (Uber) announced that both parties are advancing the introduction of Pony.ai's 7th Gen Robotaxi to London, UK, and expected to begin road testing within the coming weeks. London will become another key city in the two companies' strategy for scaled Robotaxi deployment in Europe.

The 7th Gen Robotaxi introduced to London this time is Pony.ai's L4 autonomous driving platform aimed at mass production and implementation. According to public information, the vehicle is equipped with a total of 34 sensors across six categories, covering LiDAR, cameras, and millimeter-wave radar, with a maximum detection distance of up to 650 meters. The 7th Gen model fully adopts automotive-grade components, with a design life of up to 600,000 kilometers, and the total cost of the autonomous driving suite has decreased by 70% compared to the previous generation. In terms of computing architecture, this vehicle is equipped with Pony.ai's self-developed L4 automotive-grade domain controller, based on a dual NVIDIA DRIVE Thor SoC architecture, with computing efficiency 3 times higher than the previous generation. Currently, the 7th Gen Robotaxi has achieved positive unit-level operating profit successively in two first-tier cities, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

This London road test is the latest implementation of the Europe expansion plan announced by Pony.ai and Uber in August this year. On August 14, both parties announced further expanding strategic cooperation, planning to deploy over 2,000 Pony.ai Robotaxis in five cities in Europe, which is one of the largest Robotaxi deployment plans in Europe. The cooperation will be based on the existing commercial operation in Zagreb, Croatia, and expand to 5 European cities including Zagreb, with specific implementation plans for each city to be announced in stages later.

The Zagreb project provides operational experience for reference for this London layout. In April 2026, Pony.ai, together with autonomous driving mobility service company Verne and Uber, launched Robotaxi commercial operation in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, becoming the first Robotaxi commercial service open to the public in Europe. At the initial stage of operation, the service area covered approximately 90 square kilometers, covering Zagreb central area and airport shuttle lines. This project uses the BAIC Arcfox Alpha T5 model equipped with Pony.ai's 7th Gen autonomous driving system. In September, the three parties further launched Europe's first fully driverless Robotaxi passenger test in Zagreb, the operation covered the central area and airport shuttle lines.

From a global layout perspective, Pony.ai's overseas deployment plan has expanded to over 4,000 Robotaxis, targeting a global fleet size of over 3,500 vehicles by the end of 2026, with business covering over 20 cities globally. Currently, Pony.ai has obtained autonomous driving testing or operating licenses in the Middle East, Singapore, South Korea, Luxembourg, Croatia, etc., and opened passenger service to the public in five markets: China, Croatia, Qatar, Singapore, and South Korea. In Q2 2026, Pony.ai's autonomous driving mobility service revenue was about 81.9 million yuan, a year-over-year increase of 691.2%.

Regarding London, the UK 'Automated Vehicles Act' was officially promulgated in 2024, clarifying the compliance path and regulatory framework for Robotaxi commercial operations. In 2026, the automated passenger service licensing system promoted by the UK Department for Transport entered the implementation phase. According to this system, autonomous driving passenger services must obtain licenses issued by the UK Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency and approval from local consenting authorities to operate. Transport for London, as one of the consenting authorities, has not yet started accepting relevant applications. Meanwhile, multiple autonomous driving enterprises are accelerating entry into the London market, Waymo has already begun road testing with safety drivers locally, Wayve and Uber's cooperation has also obtained a private hire vehicle license issued by Transport for London, but safety drivers are still required at this stage.

Uber Global Head of Autonomous Driving Mobility and Delivery Business Sarfraz Maredia previously stated when evaluating the cooperation with Pony.ai that the next chapter of autonomous driving mobility is moving from single-point implementation to scalable commercial operations. Pony.ai Founder and CEO Peng Jun stated that London is one of the most challenging cities globally for traffic scenarios, the company looks forward to steadily advancing trial operations under the UK autonomous driving regulatory framework, and use this as a fulcrum to accelerate deployment with Uber in more cities in Europe.