Kyodo News reported that Japan's Toyota Motor Corporation recently announced it has begun mass-producing driverless taxis equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) and sensors in China. According to the report, this vehicle was jointly developed by Toyota and the Chinese company Pony.ai, and is being produced at a factory in Guangdong. About 1,000 units are scheduled for deployment in major Chinese cities within this year.
The report mentions that Pony.ai has already deployed driverless taxis (Robotaxi) in Beijing and Shanghai, where existing Toyota models are outfitted with Pony.ai’s autonomous driving technology.
According to the report, Pony.ai’s future deployed driverless taxis will gradually transition to dedicated models co-developed by the company and Toyota. At the same time, Toyota will also enter the driverless taxi business through a joint venture with Pony.ai.
The report says the mass-produced driverless taxis are based on Toyota’s all-electric bZ4X model, utilize AI technology and sensors to avoid obstacles, and are designed to operate even without a driver.
However, according to Pony.ai, in certain regions safety personnel will still accompany passengers in the driverless taxis.
Driverless taxis have already been approved for use on roads in cities such as Wuhan, and Chinese IT giants like Baidu have also entered the field.