Robotaxis in Greater Paris by 2028: Is It Already Too Late?

Stellantis, Bolt and the Greater Paris Metropolitan Area are planning autonomous mobility experiments starting in 2028. But while the French prepare their schedules, Waymo is making progress in Europe.

Two years before the first tests, four years before a possible commercial rollout: Greater Paris is setting up a meeting with autonomous vehicles. The question remains whether the competition will wait.

Announced on October 23, the partnership between the Metropolis, Bolt, and Stellantis plans for an initial experiment in up to five municipalities in the northwestern area. The ambition would then be to reach around thirty municipalities by 2030, pending the necessary authorizations.

Stellantis would provide the vehicles, Bolt would manage the service integration, and Pony.ai, still presented as a potential supplier, would bring the autonomous driving technology. The goal: to complement public transport, facilitate the last mile, and serve areas or times that are less well covered.

Real Needs. A Questioning Timeline

Because Waymo is already laying the groundwork in Europe. In London, Alphabet’s subsidiary is conducting autonomous driving tests with specialists at the wheel and still aims for a driverless service by 2026. An objective, but not yet a guaranteed commercial reality. In Spain, tests are also announced in Madrid, Alcobendas, and Getafe, with commercial ambitions set for 2027.

Comparing a metropolitan experiment to an international strategy certainly requires some caution. Safety, acceptability, and the integration with public transport deserve more than a race to announce. But each year of testing also allows for data accumulation, system refinement, and preparation for their rollout.

The risk would therefore be discovering in 2028 the difficulties that others will have already begun to solve. Greater Paris wants to build a replicable model. It remains to be seen whether, by then, the standards for the European robotaxi have not already been set by its competitors.

ALSO READ: Waymo’s autonomous taxis are at the gates of Paris!

You might be interestedin this article:

Innovation

• 21/10/2026 14:07

Waymo’s autonomous taxis are at the gates of Paris!