Pony.ai says it’s first self-driving firm to get taxi license in China
[ad_1]
Pony.ai, an autonomous driving startup, can now collect fare for robotaxi rides in some parts of two Chinese major cities starting Sunday.
Pony.ai handout
BEIJING — Self-driving start-up Pony.ai announced Sunday it received a taxi license, the first of its kind in China.
Pony.ai can now operate 100 self-driving taxis as traditional taxis within the Nansha area of Guangzhou thanks to the license, Pony.ai said.
Chinese startup, which has been backed by ToyotaBeijing city granted approval late last year for the charging of fees for operating a robotaxi commercial business in a suburb. This is different from a taxi license.
Baidu’s Apollo Go also received approval in the same Beijing districtLast year.
Pony.ai was valued at $8.5 billion in early March. The company said its Nansha taxi license required 24 months of autonomous driving testing in China and/or other countries, and no involvement in any active liability traffic accidents, among other factors.
It said that it will launch robotaxi business in China next year. It is currently testing self-driving automobiles in California and those cities.
Robotaxis in China are currently operated by a human driver for safety.
— Arjun Kharpal from CNBC contributed to this article.
[ad_2]