Verne is a Rimac Group autonomous-mobility company, not a conventional EV marque selling cars to consumers. It is building a ride-hailing service around driverless electric vehicles, with Level 4 autonomy intended to work inside defined operating areas. Its first commercial service launched in Zagreb, Croatia, in April 2026—but the initial fleet uses Pony.ai-equipped Arcfox vehicles, not the purpose-built Verne car shown in 2024.
What is Verne?
Verne is a mobility company within the Rimac Group. It grew out of the Project 3 Mobility initiative and is focused on operating autonomous ride-hailing, rather than selling a car for private ownership. The intended customer books a trip; Verne’s business encompasses the fleet and service around that trip, including vehicles, operations, charging and maintenance, customer experience, and work with cities and regulators. Verne describes its role as building the operational layer for autonomous mobility (Verne’s account of its mobility plans; Uber partnership announcement).
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Rimac’s involvement gives the company a connection to automotive engineering and electric-vehicle development, but it does not mean Rimac built every part of the autonomous system. The disclosed roles are distinct: Rimac Group is the corporate and engineering connection; Verne develops and operates the mobility service; Pony.ai supplies the autonomy system for the initial Zagreb deployment; Uber is a ride-hailing partner; and Mobileye was named as the autonomy partner for Verne’s original concept.
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Is Verne an EV brand?
Only in the broad sense that its planned vehicles are electric. Verne is not positioned like a consumer automaker whose main product is a car customers can configure, buy, and drive themselves. Its product is an autonomous ride in a managed fleet.
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| Conventional consumer EV brand | Verne’s service model |
|---|---|
| Sells or leases vehicles to individuals | Offers rides through an app-based service |
| Designed primarily around an owner-driver | Vehicles and operations are intended for autonomous fleet use |
| Broad personal use by the owner | Operation within a defined service area and operating domain |
No public retail price list, consumer ordering process, or dealership network for Verne cars was identified in the official material. That is different from saying a vehicle could never be sold: it means Verne’s current proposition is a ride service, not a consumer purchase.
The purpose-built Verne car and the vehicles on the road
At its June 2024 unveiling, Verne showed a compact, purpose-built autonomous electric vehicle with a two-seat cabin and a passenger-focused interior. It was presented as a vehicle designed around ride-hailing rather than adapted from a conventional driver-centered car. At that time, Verne announced Mobileye Drive for the autonomy platform (Mobileye’s announcement).
That concept should not be confused with the fleet passengers first encountered in Zagreb. The commercial service launched on April 8, 2026, using Arcfox Alpha T5 robotaxis equipped with Pony.ai’s Gen-7 autonomous-driving system. Verne has described the bespoke two-seat vehicle as intended for later deployment. The company has also reported producing and testing 60 verification prototypes, while a production-facility project is underway at VGP Park Zagreb (Verne’s launch announcement; VGP facility announcement).
In short, the long-term Verne vehicle program and the current service fleet are related, but they are not interchangeable. A ride booked from Verne does not necessarily take place in the distinctive purpose-built vehicle shown at the 2024 presentation.
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What Level 4 autonomy means in practice
Level 4 describes a system intended to perform the complete driving task without a human driver taking over during normal operation—but only within its defined operational design domain. That domain can specify geography, road types, speed limits, weather, visibility, and other conditions. If the vehicle is outside that domain, or the system cannot safely handle a situation, it may need to stop or suspend service.
Level 4 is not the same as a car that can drive itself anywhere, in every kind of weather, on every road. Nor is it Level 5, which would imply operation without such domain limits. Construction, unusual road layouts, poor visibility, or other conditions can affect where and when a robotaxi is available.
“Driverless” also does not mean “no humans involved.” It means a human driver is not physically controlling the vehicle during the ride. Fleet staff, maintenance teams, customer support, and potentially remote assistance remain part of the service. Public launch materials do not fully specify Verne’s remote-assistance architecture, intervention thresholds, staffing, or incident procedures, so those details should not be assumed. Pony.ai describes its robotaxi operations as Level 4 and attributes capabilities to its Virtual Driver, redundancy, and fleet-management systems; those are the company’s descriptions, not independent performance findings (Pony.ai filing).
What powers the Zagreb service?
The autonomy partner changed between the original concept announcement and the first commercial deployment. Mobileye Drive was announced in 2024 for the planned Verne service and vehicle. The initial Zagreb fleet instead uses Pony.ai’s Gen-7 system in Arcfox Alpha T5 vehicles. That distinction matters: Rimac’s relationship to Verne does not establish that Rimac developed the autonomy software, and a partner named for the concept should not automatically be treated as the technology supplier for the current fleet.
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The partnership model divides responsibilities: Verne provides the local mobility service and fleet layer; Pony.ai supplies the autonomous-driving technology and related expertise; and Uber provides a ride-hailing distribution channel as its integration becomes available. Verne also offers its own app. The exact split of operational responsibilities can vary by deployment, and public announcements do not answer every detail.
Where and when can you book a Verne ride?
As of the April 2026 launch announcement, Verne’s public service is in Zagreb, Croatia. The initial operating area covers approximately 90 square kilometers, including Zagreb Airport, and the announced hours are 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily. Booking is available through the Verne app. Uber integration is part of the partnership, but its availability should be checked locally rather than assumed wherever Uber operates. These details describe Zagreb’s initial service, not all of Croatia or Europe (Pony.ai’s launch details; Verne’s announcement).
For a practical booking, open the official Verne service site or app, check that both your pickup and destination are inside the available area, and review the live quote and current passenger rules. Like other bounded autonomous services, availability can be affected by fleet supply, operating conditions, and whether a requested route can be served. These are sensible checks for any ride; the official announcements do not publish a complete passenger troubleshooting guide.
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No fixed public Zagreb fare was identified in the reviewed announcements. Pony.ai describes robotaxi pricing as usage-based, with factors such as mileage, route, traffic, and dynamic pricing potentially relevant. That does not establish a specific Verne fare or prove that its Zagreb operation is profitable. Check the app for the price and availability of a particular trip.
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Why the Zagreb launch matters—and what it does not prove
The launch moves Verne beyond a concept presentation toward a publicly bookable, fare-charging service with a defined area, operating hours, and real passenger operations. Verne, Pony.ai, and Uber describe it as Europe’s first commercial robotaxi service. That superlative is their characterization; comparisons depend on what counts as “commercial,” including whether rides are public and paid, whether a safety driver is present, and how a service’s operating area is defined.
A limited city service is still not an unrestricted robotaxi network. Verne’s next challenges include demonstrating reliable operation, managing charging and maintenance, securing approvals for further areas, and making fleet utilization and operating costs work. Driverless operations may avoid a human driver in the vehicle during normal service, but they do not remove costs such as vehicles and sensors, charging, repairs, insurance, customer support, remote assistance, or vehicle recovery. No evidence in the cited material establishes that Verne’s Zagreb service is profitable.
What comes next?
Earlier project material targeted Zagreb in 2026 and the United Kingdom and Germany in 2027. Those were plans, not confirmation that services have launched in those markets. The 2026 partnership announcement discusses expansion to additional European cities and ambitions for much larger fleets, but those remain forward-looking targets. Zagreb is the confirmed launch market in the cited material; readers should not treat expansion plans or fleet ambitions as completed deployments.
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Bottom line
Verne is best understood as Rimac Group’s autonomous-mobility and robotaxi company, not as a new consumer EV brand. It aims to sell driverless rides within approved operating areas. Zagreb is its first commercial market, where the initial fleet uses Pony.ai-powered Arcfox vehicles; Verne’s own purpose-built two-seat EV remains a separate part of the longer-term plan.
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