Driverless but in control: autonomous car trials start in Luxembourg
Jessica Furtney, Unsplash
On 27 March 2025, Minister of Mobility and Public Works Yuriko Backes granted Pony.ai Europe SARL the country's first official licence to conduct scientific tests of autonomous vehicles on public roads. The project is being implemented in co-operation with Voyages Emile Weber, one of Luxembourg's largest transport operators.
From 28 March for one year, the company's three unmanned vehicles will be able to drive freely in the municipality of Lenningen. Despite the autonomous mode, each of them will necessarily have a trained specialist in them to ensure safety during the journeys. The vehicles will also be labelled "essai scientifique" (scientific test) so that road users are aware of their special status.
"Issuing this licence is an important step for the future of mobility in Luxembourg. Autonomous driving is a revolutionary technology that has the potential to transform our daily lives. The State is committed to supporting such initiatives, making transport safer and more efficient," said Minister Backes.
Pony.ai has become the first company to be authorised to use autonomous vehicles in the open road space of the Grand Duchy. This is a kind of pilot that will define the vector for future implementations. The project will be a testing ground for analysing the behaviour of the technology in real conditions: with real pedestrians, intersections, weather conditions and infrastructure constraints.
