China's Pony.ai to more than double robotaxi fleet, debuts in Zagreb

(Corrects paragraph 2 in March ‌26 story ​after company ​clarified it was referring to the number of cities and not total taxis)

BEIJING, March 26 (Reuters) - Pony.ai expects to more than double ‌the fleet of robotaxis powered by its technology to over 3,000 ⁠units across more than 20 cities globally this year, the Guangzhou-based firm said on Thursday as it ‌announced its first-ever quarterly profit.

Nearly ‌half of the 20 cities, including Croatia's capital Zagreb, where the company is planning to launch Europe's first commercial robotaxi service, will be in overseas ​markets.

Pony.ai, which debuted its international commercial operations in Doha, Qatar, joins other Chinese autonomous driving companies, including WeRide and Baidu's Apollo Go, in expanding abroad ⁠as China cements its position as a leader in global autonomous driving technology.

Croatian startup Verne will manage ​the fleet and operations. The service will integrate into Uber's ride-hailing platform.

"This partnership creates a more efficient and scalable path to international ​expansion, with the potential for Pony.ai to ‌share in recurring revenue streams generated through local commercial service," said James Peng, Pony.ai's co-founder and CEO.

Pony.ai has conducted on-road testing ⁠in regions such as the Middle East, Singapore, and South Korea.

Further down the road, the company expects to deploy its seventh-generation robotaxis in major European cities on a ⁠small scale initially, before expanding collaboration with local automakers to achieve large-scale commercialisation of its technology ​across the continent, Peng told a post-earnings call.

Pony.ai, which achieved single-unit profitability in the Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, posted a fourth-quarter net profit of $75.5 million, marking its ‌first profitable quarter. The firm attributed the results primarily to increased fair value of trading securities.

Fare-charging revenue grew over six ‌times year-on-year in the fourth quarter, driven by fleet expansion and higher user adoption ⁠rates. The company reported a ‌total fleet size of 1,446 ​cars as of Wednesday, compared to fewer than 300 vehicles a year earlier.

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li and Ju-min Park, editing by ‌Andrei Khalip)

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Micron offers Taiwan workers up to 68-month bonuses as strike threat looms
• DA Davidson Reiterates Buy Rating on Oracle (ORCL) Following Q1 Print
• Incyte (INCY) Reiterated at Neutral by Cantor Fitzgerald After Management Chat