Pony AI expands autonomous truck and robotaxi operations

Pony AI expands autonomous truck and robotaxi operations as it has recently received approval for expressway testing.

Pony.ai, a leading developer of autonomous driving technology, announced on Monday that it had received approval to begin expressway testing of unmanned truck platoons, marking the first such tests in China.

These truck platoons, led by manned vehicles, have started autonomous freight service trials on the Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu expressway.

Pony AI’s autonomous trucks operate daily between Beijing and Tianjin, delivering nearly 500 standard container units (TEUs) of freight and covering over 45,000 kilometers of autonomous driving mileage on this route, as stated by the Nasdaq-listed company.

By the end of 2024, the company’s autonomous trucks had logged more than 5 million kilometers of road-testing mileage and transported over 860 million tonne-kilometers of cargo.

Currently, Pony AI provides paid autonomous shuttle services at Beijing Daxing International Airport and conducts testing on key high-speed routes connected to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.

In January, Pony AI announced plans to launch robotaxi services at the international airport in Hong Kong.

According to Pony AI, the robotaxi market in China is expected to scale up to 100,000 vehicles by 2030, capturing 10–20% of the overall travel market.

Forecasts from IHS Markit suggest that China’s self-driving taxi service industry could be worth 1.3 trillion yuan (approximately 180 billion USD) by 2030, constituting 60% of the country’s ride-hailing market by then.