A logo of the autonomous driving exertion startup Pony.ai is seen connected a surface during an lawsuit successful Beijing, China May 13, 2021.
Tingshu Wang | Reuters
China's Silicon Valley, Shenzhen, is astir to allow self-driving taxis to operate throughout the city, ending years of aviator zones and choky limits.
Pony.ai announced Friday it was the archetypal institution to receive a robotaxi licence for the full city, though the sum country volition beryllium rolled retired successful phases.
The quality marks a milestone for China's propulsion to integrate autonomous vehicles into mundane transport.
Until now, self-driving taxis successful China person been restricted to specific areas connected the outskirts of major municipality areas, alternatively than the full city.
Pony.ai's rollout is portion of a concern with section taxi steadfast Xihu Group. The two companies formed a strategical concern successful June and program to deploy implicit 1,000 of Pony.ai's seventh-generation robotaxis across Shenzhen in the coming years.
Pony.ai unveiled its seventh-generation taxi in April this year and said it was capable to cut materials costs by 70% compared with earlier models. The robotaxi relation said it developed the car unneurotic with Toyota and state-owned section operators BAIC and GAC.
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