EU approves 179.5 mln euro Croatian state aid for robo-taxi project

The European Commission said it approved a 179.5 million euro ($193 million) Croatian measure to support Project 3 Mobility (‘P3M') LLC in the development of an urban mobility service based on a fully autonomous electric vehicle, a so-called 'robo-taxi'.

“The project will be partly funded by the Recovery and Resilience Facility, following the commission's positive assessment of the Croatian Recovery and Resilience Plan and its adoption by Council," the Commission said in a press release on Thursday.

The measure is part of a wider urban mobility project in Zagreb, which will enable users to combine multiple transport modes via a single integrated mobility service platform. If successful, this urban mobility model could be expanded to other EU cities, the EU's executive said.

The aid will take the form of a direct grant to P3M, covering around 45% of the eligible costs. If the project turns out to be very successful, generating additional earnings, the beneficiary will return part of the aid received to Croatia.

Criatian businessman Mate Rimac and his Rimac Group, and South Korea's Kia Corporation are among the owners of P3M, according to data from the Croatian court registry.