This is the first such permit issued in Guangzhou, where Pony.ai's 17 robotaxis have been approved to provide robotaxi service without safety officers.
(Image credit: Pony.ai)
Pony.ai, a Chinese self-driving startup backed by Toyota Motor and Nio Capital, has been granted a permit for robotaxi service without safety officers in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, after receiving a similar permit in Beijing last month.
This is the first such permit issued in Guangzhou, where Pony.ai's 17 robotaxis were approved to provide the services, according to a press release today.
Within 803 square kilometers of Guangzhou's Nansha district, passengers will have the opportunity to call a real driverless vehicle via the mobile app PonyPilot+, Pony.ai said.
During the ride, passengers who need remote assistance can communicate in real-time with backstage personnel in the vehicle by voice, the company said.
On March 17, Pony.ai announced that it had received a permit in Beijing to operate a fully unmanned robotaxi service within 60 square kilometers of the Yizhuang Economic Development Zone.
Founded in late 2016, Pony.ai has set up R&D centers in Silicon Valley, Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai, and is running robotaxi operations locally.
In late 2019, Nio Capital said it invested in Pony.ai when it announced the completion of more than $200 million in fundraising. In February 2020, Pony.ai announced it had raised $400 million from Toyota.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
Pony.ai launched the robotaxi app PonyPilot in December 2018 and received a permit to operate the robotaxi service for a fee in Beijing in November 2021.
To date, Pony.ai has accumulated 21 million kilometers of autonomous driving, more than 1 million kilometers of fully unmanned testing and nearly 200,000 paid orders, it said today.
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