Pony.ai, a China and US-based self-driving vehicle technology company, received approval from the Beijing authorities to offer fully driverless robotaxi services in Beijing, China. 

As per the approval, robotaxis now do not require safety drivers to be present in the vehicle to take control if needed.

Local competitor Baidu was also granted the same permit, today.

Analyst QuickTake: Pony.ai first received the permit to conduct driverless testing of robotaxis in October 2021, and got the approval to offer driver-less rides to the public with the safety driver in the front passenger seat early in 2022. Last November , it received the permit to launch driverless robotaxi services with a safety supervisor in the back seat. With today’s permission, the company can launch fully driverless operations in the city.