China’s Pony AI, Toyota start ramp-up of self-driving car model

[DETROIT] Chinese robotaxi operator Pony AI has started commercial production of a driverless vehicle in partnership with Toyota Motor, one of its backers.

The first of 1,000 all-electric and autonomous Toyota bZ4X compact crossovers has rolled off the assembly line at a joint venture between Toyota and Guangzhou Automobile Group, Pony AI said on Monday (Feb 9).

The ramp-up will support Pony AI’s goal of expanding its total robotaxi fleet to more than 3,000 cars by the end of the year. The bZ4X EV is one of three models the company is deploying in major Chinese cities that use its latest self-driving software.

American depositary receipts of Pony AI rose 4.4 per cent as at 3.50 pm in New York.

Pony AI is one of several Chinese robotaxi firms, including Baidu and WeRide, that are expanding service in their domestic market and abroad in places such as Europe and the Middle East. They are developing similar technologies to US driverless firms such as Alphabet’s Waymo, Amazon.com’s Zoox and Tesla.

While Pony AI’s technology is capable of driverless navigation, humans are still sometimes required to help resolve problems and the ratio is currently one person for every 30 vehicles. BLOOMBERG