Uber turns to Chinese companies to snap up robotaxi market share in Europe, Middle East

Uber announced its third partnership with a Chinese autonomous vehicle company this week, revealing the ride-hail and delivery giant’s appetite for global domination in the emerging robotaxi sector.

Uber said Tuesday it would work with Guangzhou-based Pony AI, which late last year went public on the Nasdaq at a $5.25 billion valuation, to launch robotaxis on the Uber platform in “a key market in the Middle East” later this year. 

The Pony tie-up comes a day after Uber shared plans for two other strategic deals with Chinese firms: Momenta and WeRide. Uber said it would work with Momenta to launch robotaxis on its app in Europe in 2026, and with WeRide to expand into 15 cities across the Middle East and Europe over the next five years. Uber and WeRide have already launched a commercial robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi.

The deals with Pony, Momenta, and WeRide add to Uber’s growing list of more than 15 other autonomous vehicle partnerships across ride-hail, delivery, and freight. Most of Uber’s partners, which include Waymo and May Mobility, are based in the U.S., with a few outliers like the UK’s Wayve. 

As Uber faces perceived threats from companies like Tesla, which intends to launch its first robotaxi service in Austin next month, federal probes for allegedly misleading subscription practices, and an expected consumer spending pullback in 2025, the company is moving fast to reassure investors that there’s still plenty of room for expansion.

Pairing up with Chinese companies could be a smart way to achieve that growth. Chinese AV firms are already expanding internationally. Aside from Abu Dhabi, WeRide is operating commercial services in Beijing and France, and testing in several other markets across China and Europe. Pony offers paid robotaxi rides in three Chinese cities and recently began testing in Luxembourg.

Waymo, the only AV company in the U.S. that’s operating a commercial, driverless service today, has only just begun data collection in Tokyo. 

Pony’s partnership with Uber opens up the firm to the Middle Eastern market. Uber already had a strong presence in countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan – a presence that expanded in 2019 when Uber acquired its Middle Eastern rival Careem. 

In a press release, Pony said the goal of its Uber’s deal is to scale deployment to additional “international markets” in the future. 

As with Uber’s other launches, when Pony joins the app, Uber customers will have the option to have their trip fulfilled by an AV. During the initial pilot phase, the vehicles will have a safety operator onboard until the companies’ full commercial launch. 

Uber’s first-quarter earnings call is this week, so we’ll likely get more color on the company’s plans for growth — including its move to acquire a controlling stake in a Turkish food delivery company — and how it plans to navigate current challenges.