Toyota and Pony.ai Unveiled New Robotaxi bZ4X in China
GAC Toyota and Pony.ai have unveiled a mass-produced robotaxi based on the electric crossover Toyota bZ4X in China. The new model is designed for mass operation and equipped with a seventh-generation autonomous driving system, completely replacing the driver.
What is known
Externally, the robotaxi is almost indistinguishable from the regular bZ4X and is designed in Toyota's current style. The key difference lies inside: the car is controlled by the Pony.ai computing platform, developed based on years of trials in major Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. According to the developers, the seventh-generation system has improved in handling complex road scenarios and various weather conditions.
Production launch ceremony of the robotaxis. Photo: Pony.ai
Collaboration between Toyota and Pony.ai began back in 2020 when the Japanese automaker invested around €341 million in the company. Previously, Pony.ai's autonomous taxis used other Toyota and Lexus models, including the Sienna and RX450h.
In the coming years, the partners plan to sharply increase the scale of the project. The GAC Toyota and Pony.ai joint venture plans to have thousands of bZ4X robotaxis on the roads by the end of 2026, starting with the largest metropolises in China.
Pony.ai is actively expanding its fleet of autonomous vehicles: from approximately 200 cars in 2024 to nearly 1,000 by the end of 2025, aiming to reach 3,000 units by 2026. In the long term, the company expects to expand the fleet to 100,000 vehicles by 2030, after which they anticipate the project becoming profitable.
Source: CarNewsChina