BEIJING (Reuters), – Pony.ai self-driving technology company is backed Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:) Corp. announced Sunday that it obtained a China taxi licence, which will enable some of its driverless vehicles start charging fares.

It claimed that it was the first auto-driving company in the country.

Startup claims it has been granted the right to operate 100 driverless cars in Guangzhou’s Nansha city district.

Pony.ai won approval last year for paid driverless robotaxis services in Beijing. Since then, Pony.ai has begun providing rides.

Pony.ai spokeswoman said that ride-hailing services are available in Beijing on a temporary basis.

The company stated that it would start charging fare in Nansha for all 800 kms of district covered by driverless vehicles. Pony.ai has its own app, which allows riders to hail and pay for their rides.

Pony.ai said that it will deploy the cars initially with safety drivers. However, Pony.ai expects to take them out “over the medium to long-term,” it added.

It comes as a number of startups invest billions into autonomous technology in an effort to be a leader in future mobility.

Pony.ai is active in China and the United States, where it has tested its driverless technology in public roads in California’s Fremont, Milpitas and in China’s Guangzhou, and Beijing.

A host of Chinese startups compete in China. In recent months, Momenta and automaker SAIC gained official approval for a trial for their robotaxi service in Shanghai’s Jiading district, a move that followed a similar move in Guangzhou by Nissan-baked Weride .

In Shenzhen, Alibaba-backed AutoX is also testing robotaxis — observed by safety drivers — in a highly congested urban area with lots of pedestrian and moped traffic.