News, 16 January 2025
Pony.ai has been testing its driverless vehicle on Beijing’s roads and urban expressways. Recently, Pony.ai has been granted license for “driverless with safety operator on passenger seat” testing on such routes.
The Toyota Sienna-based Robotaxi and the Lexus RX-based Robotaxi from Pony.ai have been authorized for testing on about 90 kilometers of routes, including parts of the South Third, Fourth, and Fifth Ring Roads as well as important highways like the Beijing-Taipei Expressway and Daxing Airport Expressway. Route-specific testing hours range from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. for the Daxing Airport route and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the Beijing South Railway Station route, covering a range of conditions from high traffic to low light levels at night.
With an emphasis on uses such as connecting airports and train stations, this project is in line with Beijing’s fourth-phase plans to develop its high-level autonomous driving demonstration zone. Pony.ai has been granted highway testing permissions for intelligent connected vehicles by other Chinese cities, including as Guangzhou and Shenzhen, expanding the country’s autonomous driving capabilities.
Road testing for autonomous vehicles on highways speeds up the development of completely driverless mobility services, serving a range of user mobility needs and opening the door for commercial acceptance and citywide deployment.
About Pony.ai
Pony.ai is a technology company specializing in autonomous driving technology. Founded in 2016 by James Peng and Tiancheng Lou, the company is headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, and operates globally, including major markets in China and the United States. Pony.ai focuses on developing and deploying self-driving vehicles, with a mission to make roads safer and more efficient through its advanced autonomous systems.
