ZAGREB (Reuters) – Self-driving car startup Project 3 Mobility (P3), set up by the founder of Croatian electric car maker Rimac Group, on Wednesday unveiled a self-driving robotaxi named after French author Jules Verne ahead of a planned 2026 launch.
The startup hopes that its fully autonomous, two-seater electric vehicle, Verne, will be able to launch an urban robotaxi service, initially in Zagreb, complete with a consumer app and a hub for charging, cleaning and maintenance.
“What we’re trying to do is offer a luxury car experience in the compact car space,” Mate Rimac, CEO of the Rimac Group, which is partly owned by Porsche AG, said during the presentation.
“It’s the size of a small car, but it’s safer and more comfortable than a luxury car.”
Rimac said P3’s 300 employees have been working for five years to develop the car from the ground up, using self-driving software from Israel-based Mobileye Global.
Zagreb and 10 other cities around the world have already signed up for the Verne taxis, named after the author of “Around the World in Eighty Days,” and P3 CEO Marko Pejkovic said negotiations were underway with 20 more cities.
The factory to produce the vehicles will be built on the outskirts of Zagreb, said the capital’s mayor, Tomislav Tomasevic.
P3 completed its Series A funding round in February last year, raising around €100 million ($106.8 million) from private investors including TASARU Mobility Investments, an arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), South Korean automaker Kia and Rimac Group.
The company also received a €180 million grant from the European Union for the project.
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(Reporting by Antonio Bronjic and Daria Sito Sucic; Editing by Jan Harvey)
