Pony.ai, a company specializing in artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles, has now obtained a taxi license to operate its robotaxis in China. This comes as a first for an autonomous driving company in the country, granted after many months of rigorous testing.
This is a significant breakthrough in the autonomous vehicle industry. The Chinese government has now issued a taxi license to Pony.ai for its autonomous vehicles. For the first time in China, the platform will be able to provide this new travel service. As many as 100 autonomous vehicles will operate in the Nansha district of the Chinese city of Guangdong, covering an area of 800 square kilometers. In the future, the government's intention is to gradually expand the reach of this new service to other parts of Guangdong. At the end of 2021, the company had already obtained the right to market its robot cab services in a technology development zone in Beijing.
This new service will be accessible via the company's PonyPilot+ app. The robotaxi will be available from 8:30 am to 10:30 pm. The prices of trips will be aligned with those charged in the region by traditional cabs. For now, a safety driver will be present in the cockpit of the autonomous car as a precautionary measure. In the short to medium term, the company plans to remove the driver altogether.
In the future, the Chinese company's goal is to achieve the mass commercialization of its autonomous cabs between 2024 and 2025.