Pony.ai wins first permit for fully driverless taxi operation in the center of China’s Silicon Valley

BEIJING — In the newest step towards constructing a revenue-generating robotaxi enterprise, Chinese language start-up Pony.ai mentioned it has obtained China’s first permit to cost fares for fully driverless taxis in core elements of a enterprise district of Shenzhen.

The town is a coastal tech hub in southern China, generally dubbed the nation’s Silicon Valley.

The license permits Pony.ai to cost fares for rides — with none human workers inside — in key elements of the district of Nanshan, house to tech giants Tencent and DJI. The permit doesn’t cowl journeys throughout the whole area, limiting it to areas similar to the monetary sub-district.

Pony.ai has already operated robotaxis in elements of a neighboring Shenzhen district and may run taxis with human workers inside on routes that connect with the Shenzhen worldwide airport and Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint on the border with Hong Kong.

Whereas Pony.ai didn’t disclose what number of robotaxis it might function in the Shenzhen area, the firm mentioned the driverless automobiles might run day by day from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. native time.

Residents can e book the robotaxi rides via Pony.ai’s app or a mini-program inside the WeChat messaging app, in response to a press launch.

Pony.ai additionally operates robotaxis in elements of the main Chinese language cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, for a complete of greater than 250 automobiles throughout the nation as of late November.

In late 2021, native authorities in Beijing began permitting Baidu’s Apollo Go and Pony.ai to cost fares for robotaxis in a southern suburb of the metropolis.

In mid-March, Pony.ai additionally mentioned it was the first firm to launch a paid robotaxi route from the suburb to Beijing South Railway Station. Customers should reserve the trip a day in advance, and a human workers employee should sit in the driver’s seat, in response to present rules.

Pony.ai this week reported “a big enhance” in passenger fares in the fourth quarter from a 12 months in the past, with out disclosing precise figures. However the firm mentioned its general income from robotaxi companies fell by almost 61.9% year-on-year to $2.6 million in the fourth quarter attributable to decreased service charges for autonomous automobile engineering options. It additionally famous its income from robotruck companies rose by 72.7% year-on-year to $12.9 million attributable to the growth of its robotruck fleet.