Luxembourg wanted to become a ‘living lab’ for autonomous mobility. It will be the meeting point – and the point of friction – for the world’s major players. To my left, Uber, which announced a partnership with Emile Weber over a year ago. To my right, the Estonian firm Bolt, which announced on Monday evening that it was launching an “autonomous mobility pilot programme”. In the middle, the same technology, that of China’s Pony.ai, another friend of Luxembourg, obviously ready to work with anyone wishing to adopt its Level 4 (out of 5) technology, the seventh generation.
Officially, Bolt will be partnering with Stellantis and its L4-Ready Platform vehicles. On the freshly mown grass in a small square in front of the Automotive Campus in Bissen on Monday evening, however, it is three white Alpha T5 Arcofoxes from the Chinese manufacturer BAIC that surround the black Stellantis shuttle. The first autonomous cars will be deployed before the summer around Bissen and gradually extended to the airport. Thirty cars are considered “the magic number” for testing the service, as it is not merely a matter of transporting passengers from point A to point B, as Bolt’s Director of Marketing and Partnerships, Charlotte Eisner – who is taking on an increasing number of strategic roles at the European Commission and Nato regarding autonomous vehicles. It is also about maintaining the cars, ensuring they are operational and fully charged. “There will be enough of the pie to go round,” she assured an audience of representatives from government departments, the European Commission and various companies.
Acting as a luxury ambassador, the Estonian Minister for Infrastructure, Kuldar Leis, stood up his European counterparts—who had gathered for a Transport Council meeting that afternoon—to pay tribute to the work carried out by the Estonian company, founded in 2013. (Photo: Paperjam)
“Autonomous mobility technology is already transforming transport around the world. As the only independent ride-hailing platform of European origin competing on a global scale,” said Bolt’s founder and CEO, Markus Villig, in a statement, “we want to be at the forefront of rolling out this revolutionary technology in Europe. We welcome Luxembourg’s progressive approach to testing this technology and are delighted to be working in collaboration with our European partner Stellantis and global software leader Pony.ai to launch further pilot schemes in the future.”
In a high-profile snub, the Estonian Minister for Infrastructure, Kuldar Leis, stood up his European counterparts, who had gathered for a Transport Council meeting that afternoon, to praise the work carried out by the Estonian company, founded in 2013 and operating in over 50 countries and 600 cities, offering services ranging from ride-hailing and car-sharing to shared scooters and bicycles for 200 million customers.
17 Member States ready to harmonise the rules
Although the representative of the Luxembourg Minister for the Economy, Jean Schilz, mentioned a cross-departmental group on this issue, there is no question of saying what the authorities expect from operators to enable them to actually launch their commercial operations, given that the technology works very well in both the United States and China, where the cars have already covered millions of kilometres. The Coca-Cola formula is no longer a secret.
In the meantime, ahead of the Transport Ministers’ Council meeting on 8 June 2026, the Minister for Mobility and Public Works, Yuriko Backes, paid a visit focused on automated driving technologies to the Voyages Emile Weber site in Canach, accompanied by her Belgian counterpart Jean-Luc Crucke, Minister for Mobility, Climate and Environmental Transition, responsible for sustainable development. On this occasion, the two ministers, in the presence of Lucie Hoffmann, General Manager of Pony.ai Europe, boarded automated vehicles developed by Pony.ai and took part in a demonstration on public roads, where these models are undergoing authorised scientific trials.
On the sidelines of the Transport Ministers’ Council, the Minister 
Stemming from the European Action Plan for the Automotive Sector, this initiative marks a decisive step in the transition from testing to the practical roll-out of automated driving in Europe. It is based on the harmonisation of type-approval, safety and operational rules to enable the integration of automated vehicles into the European market.
In line with the national strategy ‘Automatiséiert Fueren 2028’, this initiative strengthens Luxembourg’s position as a hub for innovation, testing and deployment of automated mobility at European level. For Minister Yuriko Backes, “The signing of this declaration illustrates Luxembourg’s commitment to more innovative, safe and sustainable mobility. By building on close cooperation with our European partners, we are taking a decisive step towards the gradual roll-out of automated driving at European level.”