Pony.ai: 2027 Robotaxi Costs to Drop Below $32,000, Launches L4 Autonomous Light Truck

On April 24, Pony.ai debuted at the 2026 Beijing Auto Show. At the press conference, Peng Jun, Co-Founder and CEO of Pony.ai, announced that the total cost of its 2027 fully driverless Robotaxi—covering the vehicle, autonomous driving suite, battery, and other components—will be reduced to below RMB 230,000, lower than the starting price of the domestically produced Tesla Model 3. This cost reduction enhances the economic feasibility of expanding Robotaxi operations to more cities across China. Additionally, an overseas version of this model will be launched, tailored to local regulatory requirements and market needs, enabling deployment of over 1,000 units internationally.

Image source: Pony.ai (same for below)

It is reported that at the April 2025 Shanghai Auto Show, Pony.ai launched its seventh-generation Robotaxi model, which was put into operation in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen within just half a year. Currently, it has achieved a positive unit economic model in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Up to now, the scale of its Robotaxi fleet has exceeded 1,400 vehicles, and the number of users has surpassed one million, nearly tripling compared to the same period last year.

To accelerate the positive feedback loop between cost reduction and scale expansion, Pony.ai has launched its “Dual-Engine Strategy”: focusing on first-tier cities—Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen—to expand fleet size and operational coverage while replicating its proven business model; simultaneously expanding into emerging first-tier cities such as Hangzhou and Changsha, and conducting services and testing in overseas markets including Croatia and Singapore. The company expects to launch operations in over 20 cities globally by 2026, with a total fleet size exceeding 3,000 vehicles. Among these, 1,000 units of the Toyota bZ4X-based Robotaxi will be deployed. Full-driverless testing is already underway, with commercial operations in first-tier cities imminent.

At this auto show, XPeng Autonomous Driving partnered with CATL to launch the world's first fully automotive-grade, fully redundant Level 4 autonomous delivery truck. The vehicle shares the same urban complex road scenarios and Level 4 capabilities as Robotaxi, integrating existing charging, maintenance, and remote assistance systems for full autonomous operations, as well as automotive-grade autonomous driving components. By leveraging technology and resource sharing, it promotes cost reduction and efficiency enhancement in urban delivery and mobility services.

The unmanned light truck has a cargo box volume of 18m³, which is 2.6 times higher than low-speed unmanned delivery. The cost per kilometer for freight is reduced by 40-50% compared to the manual mode. The battery has a range of 320-450 kilometers, covering B2B urban distribution scenarios such as express sorting and supermarket replenishment. It is equipped with L4-level capabilities for all scenarios and all-weather conditions, with a maximum speed of 70–100 km/h. It adopts a fully redundant architecture, with a design life of 600,000 kilometers or 20,000 hours.

In addition, Pony Intelligent Driving's fourth-generation L4 autonomous truck has announced mass production and made its debut, planning to launch the first cargo operations this year, covering scenarios such as trunk routes and ports. Previously, on April 22, the company has been approved the nation's first autonomous truck platooning rear vehicle cargo operation permit, allowing "1+N" platooning unmanned transportation on routes such as the Beijing-Tianjin Expressway.