China's First Batch of Fully Autonomous Taxis Hits the Road
Securities Times reporter Chen Yuyuan
Shanghai has issued a new batch of intelligent connected vehicle demonstration operation licenses in July, marking a new stage of normalization and scaling up. Pony.ai announced that starting August 1st, it will operate fully autonomous taxis (Robotaxi) jointly with Jinjiang Taxi Company in Shanghai's Pudong New Area, with operating hours from Monday to Friday, 7:30 am to 9:30 pm.
On August 4th, the reporter experienced Pony.ai's Robotaxi at Flower Street in Pudong New Area. The vehicle uses similar navigation technology as ride-hailing apps and provides real-time information to passengers through voice and screen interfaces. The car is fully autonomous, with pre-programmed responses for encountering red lights, pedestrians, and other vehicles.
On the afternoon of August 4th, Securities Times reporter contacted Pony.ai's APP to call a three-seat SUV Robotaxi, with a journey end point at the People's Government Building No. 3 in Pudong New Area. After about 5 minutes, the APP showed that a car had been dispatched.
A white SUV with Pony.ai and Jinjiang Taxi logos, as well as "No-Pilot Testing" signage, arrived at the pickup point. Through the window, the driver's seat was empty, with a prominent doll serving as an identifier.
After unlocking the APP, the reporter opened the right rear door and got in. Despite the scorching heat of the day, the car interior was surprisingly cool, with a display screen showing two necessary conditions before departure: closing the doors and fastening seatbelts. After the door and seatbelt icons turned green, the screen prompted a safety notice that passengers must read and click on to confirm.
After clicking "Start Journey," the vehicle's turn signal lights lit up, and the steering wheel began to automatically turn, smoothly exiting the station and merging onto the main road.
The approximately 1.3-kilometer journey experienced a total of 5 intersections and 1 turning point. The reporter found that the Robotaxi generally drove at a steady pace. When encountering favorable traffic conditions, it gradually accelerated; when encountering vehicles in front, it quickly responded by slowing down and adjusting its trajectory, with a smooth and stable process.
Pony.ai's PR representative, Dai Dung-feng, said that the operating vehicle is a Lexus RX equipped with Pony.ai's fifth-generation autonomous driving system, which integrates 7 cameras, 4 lidars, and 4 millimeter-wave radars to achieve a 200-meter all-around visual range, ensuring safe travel.
"Pony.ai has developed the Virtual Driver based on the PonyWorld paradigm, achieving over 50 million hours of full-scenario, all-weather, and fully autonomous operation. The PonyWorld model can generate 100 billion miles of test data per week, helping the virtual driver to self-evolve and train its models, exceeding human driving performance by over 10 times." Dai Dung-feng said.
Pony.ai has accumulated over 5 million kilometers of autonomous driving mileage globally, including extreme weather conditions and complex road scenarios, fully validating the system's safety and reliability.
It is worth noting that when approaching the end point, the Robotaxi responded slightly slower. As vehicles around it yielded to give way, it repeatedly "confirmed" its safety before gradually turning off.
Near the journey's end, the rear-seat screen and voice broadcast prompted passengers not to open the doors until the vehicle came to a stop, displaying real-time images on the right side. After completing this trip, the Robotaxi slowly departed, with the APP showing a total cost of 14 yuan, with a discount of 2.6 yuan, resulting in an actual payment of 11.4 yuan.
Digital Life Analyst Chen Li-teng at the China Internet Network Information Center said that Robotaxi as an autonomous driving technology landing scenario is expected to experience explosive growth globally. According to estimates, the Chinese market size may grow from $540 million in 2025 to $4.7 billion in 2035, with a compound annual growth rate of over 60%, and the number of vehicles will exceed 190,000 units, covering major cities.
Industry insiders also stated that the formal landing of new batches of intelligent connected vehicle demonstration operation licenses will further drive the large-scale commercialization of L4-level autonomous driving technology in China, moving China forward in the global autonomous driving commercialization competition.
Joint Managing Partner Chen Jian-guang at Ernst & Young's Greater China Artificial Intelligence and Data Consulting Service said that fully autonomous driving and smart logistics are expected to enter a large-scale landing stage within 5-10 years, which may have a revolutionary impact on the industry.
"Automotive companies need to deeply integrate their autonomous driving systems into vehicle manufacturing, balancing performance and cost. Moreover, they should avoid solo competition and establish cooperative ecosystems with autonomous driving companies and ride-hailing platforms." Chen Li-teng said.