China's Pony.ai says it is unaffected by self-driving car safety review

BEIJING, May 26 (Reuters) - Chinese autonomous driving institution Pony.ai has not been affected by a nationalist information reappraisal pursuing a robotaxi outage involving rival Baidu's Apollo Go, and is ‌pushing up with enlargement into much cities, its CEO said connected Tuesday.

China paused approvals ‌for caller autonomous conveyance licenses aft Apollo Go's robotaxis abruptly stopped connected streets successful Wuhan successful precocious March, Bloomberg reported.

The reappraisal ​focuses connected however companies and section authorities guarantee the harmless cognition of autonomous driving systems, James Peng, Pony.ai’s co-founder and CEO, told Reuters. Pony.ai has already completed each the evaluations and its concern "has not been impacted", helium added.

Peng clarified that the information reappraisal did not entail a suspension of licenses and truthful ‌the Guangzhou-based institution is "in the process ⁠of launching into much cities" and plans to grow its fleet, helium said.

Pony.ai said it aims to turn its robotaxi fleet to 3,500 vehicles by the ⁠end of the year, from much than 1,700 currently, raising its earlier people of 3,000 by 16.7%, according to a statement.

It besides expects full-year robotaxi gross to transcend 3.5 times the levels successful 2025, up from ​an earlier ​forecast of 3 times.

The institution posted its strongest 4th ​in presumption of gross from its halfway ‌robotaxi services, which roseate astir fivefold to $8.6 cardinal successful the archetypal 3 months. Total gross was up 145% from a twelvemonth earlier to $34.3 million.

"The full manufacture inactive faces a batch of uncertainties, but astatine slightest we spot beardown momentum successful fleet deployment some domestically and internationally," Peng said.

Pony.ai's nett nonaccomplishment widened to $53.5 cardinal successful the archetypal 4th from $37.4 cardinal a twelvemonth earlier. The institution posted its first-ever profitable ‌quarter successful Q4, chiefly driven by concern gains.

Pony.ai, on ​with home peers Baidu and WeRide, which unneurotic run the ​world’s largest robotaxi fleets, is inactive gathering ​its beingness overseas.

Key cities crossed Europe, Asia, and the Middle East are acceptable ‌to spot a premix of U.S., Chinese ​and section players competing for ​fleet trials, deployments and marketplace share, said Counterpoint's elder expert Murtuza Ali.

The UK could beryllium a cardinal battleground, with Baidu exploring opportunities done partnerships with Uber and Lyft, portion Alphabet's ​Waymo and British self-driving startup ‌Wayve are besides targeting the market.

Describing the UK arsenic "a precise absorbing market", Peng said his ​company is looking astatine the accidental but "not confirming thing yet."

(Reporting by Qiaoyi Li and ​Liz LeeEditing by Bernadette Baum and Chiara Rodriquez)