Mercedes-Benz signed a production agreement on September 22 to put the Wayve AI Driver in its cars within two years. On October 1 Der Spiegel reported, citing three insiders, that Volkswagen chose Wayve as its automated-driving partner after testing it against Nvidia and others. With Nissan and Stellantis already signed, the UK start-up is becoming the driving software that carmakers without their own stack license.
Pony.ai and Verne began fully driverless rides carrying passengers on public roads in Zagreb on 10 September, the first European robotaxi programme to take the safety operator out of the car. The 22 km route links Verne's HQ and a business district to Zagreb airport. These are test rides layered on the supervised commercial service the partners launched in April.
Uber and Wayve began carrying passengers in London on 3 September in fewer than 20 Ford Mustang Mach-Es. The cars were approved as private hire vehicles, not as automated vehicles, so a TfL-licensed driver sits at the wheel and is legally responsible throughout. Riders cannot request one; the app may match them, at the normal fare.
Waymo runs 450,000 paid driverless rides a week on 200 million rider-only miles, and 2026 brought the field's first paid rides with no steering wheel, a London licence — and its first real setbacks: a 3,791-vehicle recall, a freeway pause, and China's first nationwide permit freeze.
Wayve / Uber / Transport for London — Uber and Wayve began carrying paying passengers in London on 3 Sep 2026 in fewer than 20 Ford Mustang Mach-Es — Britain's first robotaxi service. It is supervised, and the licensing explains why: the cars were approved as private hire vehicles, not as automated vehicles, so a TfL-licensed driver sits at the wheel and remains legally responsible for the whole journey. Riders cannot request one; the Uber app may match them with a Wayve car, which they can accept or decline, at the normal fare. Removing the safety driver needs a separate approval under the UK pilot framework, with no published timeline.
Three weeks after Transport for London licensed Wayve's cars as private hire vehicles, the launch of paid driverless rides is unlikely this year. TfL has not published operating guidance, and the vehicle-approval and permit steps behind it are unfinished. Wayve said in June it was 'waiting for a couple of last approvals'.
Wayve / Uber / Transport for London — Transport for London granted private hire vehicle licences to a number of Wayve's autonomous Ford Mustang Mach-E cars in early August 2026, satisfying the "triple lock" — operator, driver and vehicle each licensed by the same authority — that London requires for paid trips. Rides remain supervised: a TfL-licensed driver sits at the wheel and can take over. Early trips for part of the 100,000+ interest list Uber built in eight weeks are due later this summer, before a public launch.
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