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Estonian mobility giant Bolt is bringing autonomous vehicles to Europe through a partnership with Chinese tech company Pony AI, according to the official press release. The company aims for fully driverless taxi rides by 2027.
The collaboration will integrate Pony AI’s Level 4 autonomous driving technology, which handles most driving situations without human intervention or safety drivers, into Bolt’s existing fleet across European cities. Similar fleets from competitive companies are already running on the streets of several American and Chinese cities.
Initial focus will be on real-world testing, safety validation, and experience design before rolling out commercial services. First deployments are planned for 2026, with fully autonomous operations targeted within a year after launch.
Pony AI already operates commercially in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, with 720 robotaxis and 55 million kilometres of on-road testing. The company has held testing permits in Luxembourg since April 2024.
Bolt CEO Markus Villig warns that Europe is falling dangerously behind in autonomous vehicle development. “About 10% of the EU’s economy is involved in making cars,” he notes. “If we miss this wave, we’re not going to have our own self-driving car capabilities in Europe.” Bolt is in the prime position to address this gap. “Anybody who wants to deploy their cars into Europe would benefit from our network and our customers.”
The partnership leverages Bolt’s regulatory expertise and extensive European presence: the company operates in over 600 cities across 50 countries with 200 million customers. Bolt employs nearly 50 people focused specifically on regulatory lobbying at local and European levels.
The company is now also the most valuable Estonian unicorn, with over €2B in annual turnover, 80% comes from ride-hailing. With the arrival of new technologies, the business could grow by 100 times, Villig told Sifted last year.
