Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Autonomous driving firm Pony.ai is set to make its first foray into the European market with the establishment of a research and development center in Luxembourg, Chief Executive James Peng announced on Wednesday at the MOVE event in London.
“A year ago we started looking to the South Korean market,” Peng said, noting that upcoming regulatory adjustments will facilitate the company’s expansion there.
“The local government is very much pro-mobility. They are working on easing the regulations so that we can expand operations there.”
Peng emphasized the significance of the European market, stating, “Europe is a big market that we cannot ignore. Europe has huge potential for autonomous mobility. Luxembourg is a small country with an open-minded government, so we can use it as a starting point in Europe.”
In late April, Pony.ai formed a partnership with Japanese automaker Toyota and its Chinese joint venture GAC Toyota. This collaboration is anticipated to accelerate the commercial operations of robotaxis in China.
Beijing has made significant strides in integrating robotaxis closer to its city center over the past three years. The city has began recently testing robotaxis with human staff on a 40-minute route between a major high-speed train station and a suburban area to its south.
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By the end of this year or early next year, this route is expected to operate fully driverless, Ning Zhang, Vice President at Pony.ai and head of its Beijing research and development center, told CNBC in an exclusive interview last month.
Toyota and Pony.ai initiated a strategic partnership in 2019 to jointly advance the development of high-level autonomous vehicles for mobile mobility services in China.
Currently, around 200 robotaxis, based on the Lexus RX450h and Toyota Sienna models, are providing autonomous driving mobility services through Pony.ai’s platform in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai.
The new partnership, with a registered capital of over 1 billion yuan ($138 million), is focusing on the development of its first product, a Level 4 autonomous vehicle, and its production planning, the three companies announced earlier this week.
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Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
