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

BEIJING, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Chinese autonomous ‌driving company Pony.ai ​has ​a pipeline of planned and potential overseas robotaxi deployments of more than 4,000 vehicles, it said on Tuesday, as it seeks to ‌accelerate its expansion beyond China.

Autonomous driving firms are racing to commercialise ⁠robotaxi services overseas.

As the technology matures and domestic competition intensifies, they are seeking new revenue streams ‌and partnerships in markets including ‌the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Pony.ai, which is targeting a robotaxi fleet of 3,500 vehicles by year-end, did not provide a timeline for when all the ​planned overseas deployments would be finalised. It also did not say how many robotaxis it has deployed overseas so far.

Last week, it made public plans ⁠to deploy more than 2,000 robotaxis in Europe through an expanded partnership with Uber.

The more than 4,000 vehicles ​in Pony.ai's overseas deployment pipeline have already been contracted, with rollout timelines dependent on permits and other regulatory and operational requirements, ​CEO James Peng said on a post-earnings ‌call.

Rival WeRide is also accelerating its global expansion and is considering Australia, South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia as potential markets, ⁠Reuters reported.

Pony.ai posted a strong second quarter, with total revenue rising 68.8% from a year earlier to $36.2 million, according to a company statement, and its net loss narrowing 14.9% year-on-year ⁠to $45.4 million.

Robotaxi revenue, which made up one-third of total revenue for the first time, surged ​691.2%.

“We will continue to advance our full-year plans and are confident in our ability to exceed our full-year robotaxi services revenue target," Peng said.

The company remains on track for full-year robotaxi ‌revenue to exceed 3-1/2 times 2025's level.

Beyond robotaxis, Pony.ai's second-quarter robotruck revenue increased 40% on year.

The company aims to deploy ‌500 to 1,000 autonomous heavy-duty trucks in China within two to three years and ⁠scale its driverless light-duty truck fleet ‌to 100,000 vehicles by ​2030, Pony.ai's robotruck chief He Xing told reporters earlier this month.

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li and Liz Lee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and ‌Barbara Lewis)

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