Robotaxi services awaiting approval

Staff reporter and agencies

Chinese autonomous driving start-up Pony.ai's application to roll out its robotaxi services in Hong Kong is yet to be approved, mainland media reported.

Last week, Pony.ai announced it has become one of the first autonomous driving firms to win mutual recognition qualifications for an intelligent network-connected automobile demonstration pilot in the Greater Bay Area.

The Guangzhou-based firm has already rolled out robotaxi services at Beijing Daxing International Airport and has launched automatic driving tests in the core high-speed section of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.

Founded in Silicon Valley in 2016, Pony.ai develops and operates self-driving fleets in the US and China.

Its vehicles include trucks and robotaxis. It has permits to provide fare-charging, fully driverless taxi services in some parts of major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

Last November, Baidu (9888) received a license to test autonomous vehicles with its Apollo Go robotaxi service in Hong Kong, in its bid to expand beyond the mainland.

Baidu Apollo International was approved to conduct trials for 10 autonomous vehicles in North Lantau, according to Hong Kong's Transport Department.

The license will be valid from December 9, 2024 to December 8, 2029, with only one self-driving car operating on specified road sections at a time in its first phase, it said.

Hong Kong has actively promoted autonomous vehicles since 2017, but has only recently allowed their wider trials, including on public roads.