17 EU nations sign pact to coordinate autonomous vehicle testing

Bolt, Stellantis, and Pony.ai Launch Autonomous Vehicle Test Program in Luxembourg

Estonian ride-hailing platform Bolt, automaker Stellantis, and Chinese robotaxi operator Pony.ai announced on Saturday the launch of an autonomous mobility pilot program in Luxembourg, aiming to validate the safety, performance, and regulatory readiness of Pony.ai’s seventh-generation autonomous vehicles.bolt

The announcement arrives as 17 European transport ministers signed a joint declaration on Monday backing large-scale cross-border autonomous vehicle testing, creating a unified framework to replace fragmented national pilot programs across the continent.yahoo

A Three-Way Partnership Takes Shape

The Luxembourg pilot brings together Bolt’s ride-hailing platform, Stellantis’s electric vehicle hardware, and Pony.ai’s Level 4 autonomous driving software. The partnership builds on groundwork laid in October 2025, when Stellantis and Pony.ai signed a memorandum of understanding to co-develop robotaxis using Stellantis’s medium-size van platform based on the Peugeot e-Traveller. Bolt joined the effort in November 2025, with CEO Markus Villig telling Reuters the company’s ambition was “to be one of the first platforms to provide fully driverless autonomous vehicles in the EU”.yahoo

Pony.ai has operated from its European hub in Luxembourg since early 2025, when it obtained the country’s first scientific testing permit for Level 4 autonomous driving from the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works.linkedin

EU Ministers Back Cross-Border Testing Framework

On the margins of the Transport Council in Luxembourg on Monday, ministers from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden endorsed the Joint Declaration of Intent alongside EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas. The European Commission described the signing as “an important milestone under the European Automotive Action Plan,” aimed at providing “greater regulatory certainty for innovators and investors”.europa

The initiative establishes two workstreams: one focused on common principles for permitting and approval procedures, and another on practical deployment activities in public transport, freight, and logistics.gv

London Emerges as a Parallel Battleground

Europe’s autonomous vehicle push extends beyond the EU. In London, Waymo — owned by Alphabet — began testing roughly 100 autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicles in April and aims to launch a commercial service by the fourth quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, Uber and U.K.-based startup Wayve opened an interest list on Monday for customers wanting to be matched with a Wayve robotaxi, with a launch expected in coming months pending regulatory approval.techcrunch

“London is ready, Madrid too,” autonomous mobility expert Hervé de Tréglodé told Euronews. “Commercial services could emerge by 2027”.euronews