Pony AI (PONY) is accelerating its global expansion with a strategic partnership to deploy robotaxis in Qatar, marking a key milestone in the company’s ambitious rollout of autonomous vehicles across the Middle East. Earlier this week, Pony AI announced a partnership with Mowasalat (Karwa), Qatar’s largest transportation provider, to test robotaxis on Doha’s public roads.
This collaboration follows Pony AI’s existing presence in Dubai and is a key step toward the company’s “autonomous mobility everywhere” vision. The initial testing phase includes safety operators as the technology adapts to Qatar’s unique driving conditions, weather patterns, and infrastructure.
This partnership provides Pony AI with access to a market that is preparing for major infrastructure investments and smart city initiatives.
Pony AI’s expansion comes as it demonstrates impressive operational metrics. Over 200 Gen-7 robotaxis have rolled off production lines since mass production began, with the company targeting 1,000 vehicles by year-end.
Fare-charging revenues surged over 300% year-over-year (YoY) in Q2, while total revenue rose by 76%. Pony AI now operates fully driverless commercial services in all four of China’s tier-one cities and recently launched 24/7 coverage in certain areas. In the June quarter, registered users increased 136% YoY, indicating strong consumer adoption.
The China-based company has achieved technological differentiation by reaching what management calls the “third stage” of Level 4 (L4) development, where it operates hundreds of fully driverless vehicles at scale.
This distinguishes Pony AI from competitors that still require safety operators. The 70% reduction in bill-of-materials costs for Gen-7 vehicles demonstrates meaningful progress toward viable unit economics, while operational improvements, such as achieving a 1:30 remote assistant-to-vehicle ratio, show clear paths to profitability. Management’s emphasis on safety, redundancy, and rigorous engineering practices lends credibility, given their over 2 million kilometers of accident-free driving.
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