Europe’s race towards driverless transport is gathering pace, with Stellantis, the Dutch global car-making group behind brands such as Opel, Citroen and Peugeot, joining forces with Estonia’s Bolt to explore the rollout of autonomous ride-hailing services across Europe from 2026, Estonia’s investment promotion agency, Invest in Estonia, reported on its website investinestonia.com.

The collaboration brings together Stellantis’ purpose-built autonomous vehicle platforms and Bolt’s ride-hailing network, which spans more than 50 countries, including 23 EU member states. The ambition is to introduce fully driverless taxis that operate without a human at the wheel.

Stellantis plans to contribute two dedicated platforms: the eK0 medium van and the STLA small architecture. Both have been designed for Level 4 autonomy, allowing vehicles to operate independently within defined areas. The platforms are fitted with high-end sensor suites, onboard computing power and multiple redundancy systems aimed at meeting Europe’s demanding safety requirements.

Progress will be incremental. Trial vehicles are expected to begin operating on European roads in 2026, while larger-scale production is pencilled in for 2029. Bolt has outlined long-term plans to host up to 100,000 autonomous vehicles on its platform by 2035 and is also working with Chinese autonomous driving specialist PonyAI.

If successful, the partnership could reshape urban mobility. Removing the driver from the equation has the potential to cut costs for passengers, while cities could benefit from reduced congestion and lower emissions through more efficient routing and higher levels of ride-sharing.

However, significant hurdles remain. Any large-scale deployment will depend on separate commercial agreements, regulatory clearance and the ability to meet strict technical standards, Bolt noted in an official statement. The driverless future may be closer, but it is far from guaranteed.