Pony AI Starts Road Testing 7th Gen BAIC Robotaxis In Beijing: Retail Believes It’s ‘Huge Competition’ For Tesla

PONY AI Inc. (PONY) announced on Wednesday that it has begun road testing its seventh-generation robotaxi model, developed in partnership with automaker Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC), in Beijing.

Shares of the company rose 5% in the pre-market session.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock rose from ‘bearish’ to ‘bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours while message volume increased from ‘low’ to ‘normal’ levels.

A Stocktwits user opined that the Chinese company now poses a “huge competition” for U.S. automaker Tesla Inc. (TSLA), which is also attempting to make vehicles wholly autonomous.

Another user pointed out that the stock appears to be among those that have more potential for profit.

The BAIC robotaxi fleet is now operating within Beijing’s 225-square-kilometer High-Level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone. Road testing of the seventh-generation BAIC and Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) robotaxi models is currently underway in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, the company stated.

The company also stated that it is now making progress toward large-scale production and commercial deployment. It aims to expand its fleet to 1,000 vehicles by the end of 2025.

Pony AI unveiled its seventh-generation autonomous driving system at the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in April earlier this year. The company then unveiled three seventh-generation robotaxi models developed through its partnerships with Toyota, BAIC, and GAC.

It deployed its seventh-generation autonomous driving system on a Toyota bZ4X, an ARCFOX Alpha T5, and a second-generation Aion V.

PONY stock is down 3% this year but up approximately 17% over the past 12 months.

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