Pony.ai rolls out into personal car market

Pony.ai, an autonomous driving startup backed by Toyota, is charging into the personal vehicle sector, as driving-assist functions are becoming features that affect car buyers' decisions.

The Level 2++ segment is emerging as the third pillar of Pony.ai's business, with the other two being robotaxis and autonomous trucks, both classified as Level 4 according to the Society of Automotive Engineers' six-level standards.

Its Level 2++ business includes solutions for passenger cars, domain controllers as well as closed loop tools. Pony.ai's unit, Personally Owned Vehicles, which was established in late 2022, is in charge of the segment's product development and business operations.

James Peng, co-founder and CEO of the startup, said high-level smart driving in passenger vehicles will prove instrumental to the mass adoption of fully autonomous driving.

"Based on our experience of six years in algorithms and data, Pony.ai will utilize its technological advantages and offer highly efficient solutions. It will be one of our major business priorities," Peng said.

Pony.ai said it started to receive orders for its Level 2++ solutions in 2022 and deliveries have already begun.

The startup now has three driving-assist solutions for passenger vehicles, which are called Pony-Classic, PonyPro and PonyUltra.

Based on different sets of sensors and chips with varying computing power, they can offer functions including valet parking and autonomous driving on expressways as well as city roads.

The entire set of hardware for PonyClassic, the basic version, stands at thousands of yuan, which has made its solutions competitive in the market, according to Pony.ai.

Thanks to its Bird's Eye View algorithm, high-definition maps are not necessary in Pony.ai solutions.

And with daily navigation maps, Pony.ai's solutions can enable autonomous driving on expressways and urban roads.

Wang Haojun, chief operating officer of the company, said the achievement is attributable to the company's business in robotrucks and robotaxis, which have helped accumulate experience on highways and city streets.

He said the company's Level 4 fleet has finished tests of around 20 million kilometers, and 70 percent of data and technology can be applied into its Level 2++ solutions for passenger vehicles.

PonyUltra can enable cars to almost work like robotaxis while PonyClassic can meet the requirements of most carmakers for driving-assist functions, Wang said.

Domain controllers, which are essential for autonomous driving, is another part of Pony.ai's new personal vehicle-related business.

The company said it now has two products, one of which has one Nvidia Orin system-on-chip while the other has two. The company said it is also planning to further expand its portfolio.

Pony.ai said it started deliveries of domain controllers in late 2022.Besides trucks and passenger cars, the products are also used in low-speed products, like driverless delivery vehicles as well as autonomous vehicles at ports and mines.

Several carmakers have already used Pony.ai's closed loop tools, which help facilitate the development of their own driving-assist products, according to the company.

Founded in late 2016, Pony.ai has been extending autonomous mobility technologies and services at a rapidly expanding rate around the world.

It has formed partnerships with leading companies, including Toyota, SAIC, SANY, FAW Group and GAC Group.