A 100% European autonomous taxi service called Verne is coming soon to Europe

The Croatian company Rimac announced on Wednesday that it was ready to launch an autonomous taxi service in Croatia from 2026 and has already signed agreements with several European cities.

After Google, whose robot taxis are now open to everyone in San Francisco, an equivalent service could soon see the light of day in Europe. A 100% European autonomous taxi service, called Verne, in homage to Jules Verne, was announced on Wednesday June 26 by the Croatian Rimac. Until now, it was best known for its electric supercars and recently for the takeover of Bugatti. And since 2017, he has also been working on robot taxis: 100% autonomous cars, without steering wheel, without pedals, without gear lever. Now, it says it is ready to launch an autonomous taxi service in Zagreb, the Croatian capital, from 2026. Then, the service will gradually be extended to other countries. The company has already signed agreements with 11 European cities and is in negotiations with 30 others. But since he doesn’t want to say which ones, we don’t know if there are any in France.

These robot taxis will look like a city car the size of a Clio or a 207, with a huge windshield that plunges down to the front bumper. Unlike what Google or General Motors did, the car was designed from the start to be autonomous. They did not start from an existing model to modify it. As a result, the vehicle has no dashboard, no windshield wipers, or mirrors. Not only because it is unnecessary, but also because it improves aerodynamics. Finally, inside, as there are only two huge armchairs, this leaves plenty of space for legs and luggage.

We remember that Uber stopped all its developments after the fatal accident in 2018. Last year, it was Cruise, a subsidiary of General Motors, which had its license withdrawn after a series of accidents. Even Google has been under surveillance since its cars were found on the wrong side of the road.

We have been promised 100% autonomous cars for ten years. Each time, they had to arrive within two years. But the technology is very difficult to make reliable. It’s even worse on a taxi, since the slightest misstep would be simply unforgivable.