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Pony.ai Launches China’s First Autonomous Taxi App

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Pony.ai has established itself as one of China’s leading driverless car start-ups. It’s a firm based in China and the U.S. that creates self-driving vehicle software. Its fleet vehicles use technology such as LIDAR to monitor the vehicle’s surroundings via laser signals to calculate the distance between itself and obstacles.

Now, the company is venturing into the autonomous ride service app territory. It launched the app in late December, becoming the country’s first company to do so.

More about the app

The app works similarly to other ride service apps. The consumer downloads the app from Pony.ai to hail an autonomous taxi. The car can travel to preset locations like certain offices or residential areas, offering citizens an alternative to public transportation and vehicle ownership.

Right now, only Pony.ai staff and some exclusive users are using the app as part of the messaging service WeChat. For now, the service is free, however it likely won’t be for long, once the app establishes itself and consumer demand increases.


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Traffic in Beijing
Photo: The Erica Chang

Future goals

Pony.ai’s app launch comes in the context of Beijing’s “Made in China 2025” plan, per CNBC. Developing autonomous and electric vehicles are a crucial part of this project, which aims to establish Beijing as a national champion in 10 different high-tech industries (one of these industries being electric vehicles).

We anticipate more news in the days ahead as the Pony.ai app helps bring the country one step closer to its green-energy goals, while offering more public transportation options.


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News Source: CNBC