Chinese autonomous-driving firm Pony.ai said it plans to expand its robotaxi services globally, taking advantage of the lower cost of production enabled by the nation’s leadership in the automotive industry.
James Peng, chairman and CEO of Pony.ai, said the company’s robotaxis were 20 to 30 per cent cheaper than those from US rival Alphabet’s self-driving unit Waymo.
“Our biggest advantage compared with companies like Waymo is that we’re much more integrated,” Peng told the Post during an interview at the Shanghai Auto Show on Wednesday. “We have the advantage of a mature supply chain and ecosystem in China.”
The Guangzhou-based company debuted its seventh-generation autonomous-driving system and showcased three mass production robotaxi models developed in partnership with Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor and state-owned carmakers BAIC Group and GAC on the first day of China’s largest car show.
While the company did not disclose the prices of the new models, it said it had reduced production costs by 70 per cent compared with the previous generation.
“I think in the next two to three years the most significant improvement you’ll see in the industry is the scale-up,” Peng said, adding that falling costs would lead to wider adoption and a significant increase in the number of self-driven taxis on the road.
