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, commercially.

As per the approval, robotaxis now do not require safety drivers to be present in the vehicle to take control if needed, and the companies can now charge for rides from customers.

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 driverless 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 and received permission to offer non-commercial driver-less rides in the city in March 2023. Pony.ai has made remarkable progress in its journey toward fully autonomous robotaxi services, now achieving the milestone of offering commercial driverless rides without the need for safety drivers in Beijing.