Bolt teams up with China’s Pony.ai to push autonomous vehicles
Published on: Nov 25, 2025
The tie-up comes as China’s autonomous vehicle firms step up their European ambitions amid tightening restrictions in the United States.
Estonian ride-hailing company Bolt has struck a partnership with Chinese self-driving specialist Pony.ai to introduce autonomous vehicles across Europe, becoming the latest platform to join forces with China’s fast-advancing mobility sector.
Announced on Tuesday, the agreement will see Pony.ai’s Level 4 autonomous driving system, designed to operate without human intervention under defined conditions, integrated into Bolt’s network. The companies said they will focus first on real-world testing, safety assessments and user-experience design before rolling out fully driverless services. No launch date was disclosed, though early deployments are expected in cities across EU member states and other European markets.
The tie-up comes as China’s autonomous vehicle firms step up their European ambitions amid tightening restrictions in the United States. Pony.ai already operates fully driverless robotaxi services in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen, and manages a fleet of more than 700 robotaxis along with 200 autonomous trucks.
Markus Villig, Bolt’s founder and CEO, said autonomous mobility would “transform how people and goods move”, while Pony.ai’s co-founder James Peng described Europe as “a highly promising market”.
The partnership adds to a growing list of Chinese players expanding into Europe’s competitive self-driving landscape. Uber and Chinese start-up Momenta recently announced plans to test robotaxis in Germany next year, while Lyft and Baidu aim to deploy autonomous fleets in Germany and the UK.
