The Pony.ai self-driving fleet in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. Photo: Courtesy of Pony.ai

Pony.ai, an autonomous driving (AD) technology company, announced on  Sunday that it has become the first AD company to obtain a taxi license in China, signaling the Guangzhou government's formal implementation of AD mobility services similar to traditional taxi and ride-hailing platforms. 

Pony.ai was awarded a permit to operate 100 autonomous vehicles as traditional taxis in Nansha in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. In May, Pony.ai will start charging fares throughout the entire 800 square kilometers of Nansha with 100 robotaxis, according to the release sent to the Global Times on Sunday.

The robotaxis will operate in both daytime and nighttime with service hours from 8:30 am to 22:30 pm and with fares based on standard taxi pricing in Guangzhou.

Together with a robotaxi fee-charging permit received in Beijing in November 2021, Pony.ai is now the sole company approved for AD commercialization services in two Tier-1 cities in China, the company said, and the company plans to expand its commercialized robotaxi footprint to the other two Tier-1 cities of Shanghai and Shenzhen next year and to more cities by the start of Pony.ai's mass commercialization planned for 2024/2025.

The Guangzhou government said it encourages and supports enterprises to carry out various types of road tests for intelligent networked vehicles including autonomous driving.

It said on Wednesday that the two districts of Haizhu and Panyu have added 106.5 kilometers of open test roads. To date, Guangzhou has facilitated road mileage of about 789 kilometers for AD testing.

In November Beijing launched China's first pilot program for commercial autonomous driving travel services, with many viewing the development as the end of the testing phase for autonomous driving and the beginning of broader market development.

The first group of enterprises that are permitted to undertake pilot commercial activity will be restricted to a 60 square kilometer area of the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone in southern Beijing.

Baidu and Pony.ai were among the first service providers to receive authorization.

Global Times