Pony.ai Introduces Driverless Robotaxi Service in Shenzhen, Following Successful Launch in Guangzhou
Chinese autonomous vehicle startup Pony.ai has introduced its driverless robotaxi service in Shenzhen.
On Monday, the autonomous vehicle technology company revealed that it has received a permit in Shenzhen to conduct robotaxi services without an onboard safety officer in the city's core areas, according to a report by CnEVPost.
Pony.ai was founded in late 2016, and since then has established research and development (R&D) centers in Silicon Valley, Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai, and is running robotaxi operations locally.
The company launched the robotaxi app PonyPilot in December 2018, and in November 2020, it secured a permit to operate the robotaxi service in Beijing.
In March 2021, Pony.ai announced that it had received a license in Beijing to operate fully unmanned robotaxi services within a 60 sq.km area in the Yizhuang Economic Development Zone.
In April, the company was granted permission to offer robotaxi service without a safety officer in the vehicle in Guangzhou.
Baidu is the only other firm that has obtained such a permit.
Pony.ai's expansion into the sprawling metropolis of Shenzhen comes as the company has been able to quickly roll out self-driving technology in different cities.
The company said that driverless vehicles need to undergo rigorous testing before hitting the road, including remote and extreme scenarios, safety management, network and data security, risk response, and a comprehensive assessment by experts and government departments.
To date, Pony.ai has more than 1 million kilometres of fully unmanned testing and nearly 200,000 paid travel orders.
Pony.ai, which is backed by Toyota Motor and NIO Capital, aims to remain at the forefront of China's rapidly growing autonomous vehicle market.
The
Read more on cryptonews.com
