Croatian autonomous vehicle company Verne said on April 8 it had launched Europe's first commercial robotaxi service in Zagreb, allowing members of the public to book and pay for driverless rides through its app.

"For the first time in Europe there is a real commercial robotaxi service. People can use it and take real autonomous rides," Verne co-founder and chief executive Marko Pejkovic said. "We said we would launch in Zagreb in 2026. Today, we did. This is just the start."

The initial deployment uses electric vehicles fitted with Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai's seventh-generation self-driving system. The cars operate without human drivers but will carry trained autonomous vehicle operators during the early phase of the rollout.

The service covers key districts of Zagreb, with plans to expand across the city. Rides will also become available through Uber following a partnership between Verne, Pony.ai and the ride-hailing giant.

Verne said it aims to move to fully driverless operations once regulatory approvals are secured and safety targets are met.

The company has begun permitting discussions with 11 cities across the EU, the UK and the Middle East, with more than 30 further cities under consideration. Verne plans to deploy a purpose-built two-seat autonomous vehicle designed for driverless ride-hailing as it scales.

The launch positions Verne among the earliest movers in Europe's robotaxi market, which has lagged behind the US and China, where companies such as Waymo and Baidu's Apollo Go already operate at scale. European regulatory frameworks for autonomous vehicles have been slower to develop, making Croatia's approval a notable step.