China's Pony.ai plans to deploy more than 4,000 robotaxis abroad

BEIJING - Autonomous vehicle pioneer Pony.ai has outlined a plan to expand its robotaxi fleet abroad, with over 4,000 vehicles in its deployment pipeline, according to a Reuters report on Tuesday. As competition for commercializing robotaxi services intensifies, the Chinese company is seeking new revenue streams and partnerships in markets such as the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.

Pony.ai aims to reach a fleet of 3,500 vehicles by year-end, but has not disclosed a timeline for the completion of all planned overseas deployments nor the number of robotaxis already deployed overseas.

Last week, Pony.ai confirmed plans to deploy more than 2,000 robotaxis in Europe through a partnership with Uber. CEO James Peng stated that the majority of these vehicles have already been contracted, with rollout timelines dependent on permits, regulatory, and operational requirements.

Pony.ai's second-quarter revenue surged 68.8% year-on-year to $36.2 million, with robotaxi revenue, now representing a third of the company's total revenue, surging 691.2%. CEO Peng expressed confidence in exceeding the full-year robotaxi services revenue target, aiming for the company's robotaxi revenue to surpass 3.5 times the 2025 level.

The company remains on track for this goal. Additionally, Pony.ai's robotruck revenue grew by 40% year-on-year, with the company aiming to deploy 500 to 1,000 autonomous heavy-duty trucks in China within the next two to three years and scale its driverless light-duty truck fleet to 100,000 vehicles by 2030.