Robotaxi
operator
Pony.ai
has
begun
testing
rides
with
human
staff
inside
between
a
suburb
of
Beijing
and
a
major
high-speed
train
station.
CNBC
|
Evelyn
Cheng
BEIJING
—
In
three
years,
China’s
capital
city
of
Beijing
has
taken
rapid
steps
toward
letting
robotaxis
operate
closer
to
the
city
center.
This
month,
the
city
began
allowing
tests
of
robotaxis
with
human
staff
inside
to
run
the
40-minute
route
between
a
major
high-speed
train
station
and
a
suburban
area
to
its
south.
That
route
between
Beijing
South
Railway
Station
and
the
suburb
of
Yizhuang
is
set
to
open
a
public-facing
robotaxi
service
in
the
next
week
or
two,
Ning
Zhang,
vice
president
at
Pony.ai
and
head
of
its
Beijing
research
and
development
center,
told
CNBC
in
an
exclusive
interview
Thursday.
He
cited
pending
government
permits.
By
the
end
of
this
year
or
early
next
year,
Zhang
expects
the
train
station
route
will
be
fully
driverless,
with
no
human
staff
inside.
The
latest
route
marks
a
significant
expansion
of
robotaxi
operation
from
the
outskirts
of
Beijing
toward
the
city
center.
The
capital
is
laid
out
with
highways,
nicknamed
“rings,”
in
concentric
circles
around
the
city
center.
watch
now
The
Yizhuang
suburb
is
outside
the
fifth
ring
road.
Beijing
South
Railway
Station
is
inside
the
third
ring
road.
Zhang
said
there
is
a
perception
that
Beijing
would
not
allow
robotaxis
past
the
fifth
ring
road.
“Now,
we
are
breaking
that
boundary,”
he
said.
“This
is
a
big
progress,
and
because
Beijing
is
willing
to
make
so
great
a
move,
it’s
going
to
be
a
very
good
example,
showcase
for
the
entire
China,”
he
said.
In
November
2021,
Beijing
city
allowed
robotaxi
operators
Pony.ai
and
Baidu’s
Apollo
Go
to
collect
fares
for
public-facing
rides
in
Yizhuang,
a
first
step
toward
eliminating
the
cost
of
the
driver.
Less
than
two
years
later,
Beijing
authorities
allowed
the
robotaxi
companies
to
remove
human
staff
from
some
public-facing
cars
and
still
charge
fares.
Users
can
hail
the
taxis
using
designated
apps.
Beijing
authorities
in
late
February
expanded
the
operational
area
for
staffed,
public-facing
robotaxis
to
Daxing
International
Airport,
which
is
near
Yizhuang.
In
addition
to
Pony.ai
and
Baidu,
AutoX
and
WeRide
received
the
operation
permits,
according
to
a
government
release.
By
the
end
of
this
year,
Zhang
expects
the
city
will
allow
robotaxi
operation
around
Beijing
Capital
International
Airport
to
the
north.
Subsequent
expansion
is
set
to
cover
the
city’s
four
other
railway
stations,
he
said.
For
Pony.ai,
he
anticipates
more
than
50
fully
driverless
taxis
will
operate
in
Beijing
by
the
end
of
this
year.
In
the
next
two
years,
he
expects
Beijing
will
allow
robotaxis
to
run
between
the
sixth
and
fourth
ring
roads
regardless
of
city
district.
That
will
require
Pony.ai
to
get
ready
by
the
end
of
2025
for
a
robotaxi
fleet
on
the
scale
of
1,000
vehicles,
he
said,
noting
the
startup
is
working
with
Toyota
to
mass
produce
the
cars.
Once
there
are
500
to
1,000
robotaxis
in
one
city,
Zhang
said
the
operation
can
break
even.
With
scale,
he
expects
business
growth
is
“going
to
be
exponentially
fast
in
the
later
years.”
That
also
depends
on
the
pace
of
regulatory
support.
In
three
to
five
years,
Zhang
expects
Beijing
will
allow
robotaxis
throughout
the
city.
Robotaxis
in
the
U.S.
Global
interest
in
robotaxis
has
meanwhile
picked
up,
with
Alphabet’s
Waymo
expanding
its
operations
on
the
West
Coast.
In
April,
Elon
Musk
announced
that
Tesla
will
reveal
its
robotaxi
on
Aug.
8.
When
asked
about
Musk’s
plans,
Zhang
said
Pony.ai
hoped
that
Tesla’s
involvement
in
the
industry
could
help
“reshape”
transportation.
But
in
his
view,
he
said
that
Tesla’s
Full
Self
Driving
technology
was
better
for
assisted
driving
rather
than
a
fully
driverless
system.
As
for
other
Chinese
robotaxi
operators,
Zhang
doesn’t
expect
fierce
rivalry
for
the
next
few
years
while
the
nascent
industry
is
still
in
the
process
of
gaining
traction.
Baidu
said
that
Apollo
Go
operated
about
826,000
rides
in
the
first
quarter,
up
from
660,000
rides
in
the
year-ago
period.
As
of
April
19,
cumulative
rides
have
surpassed
6
million.
During
Baidu’s
latest
earnings
call,
CEO
Robin
Li
said
the
company
expected
its
robotaxi
business
to
narrow
losses
for
the
rest
of
the
year,
according
to
a
FactSet
transcript.
He
added
that
Baidu’s
newest
robotaxi
vehicle
costs
less
than
$30,000
when
excluding
the
battery.
Beijing
city
government
in
May
2024
started
allowing
tests
of
robotaxis
to
a
major
high-speed
train
station
to
the
south
of
the
city.
CNBC
|
Evelyn
Cheng
