Pony.ai Targets 3,000 Robotaxis in Over 20 Cities in 2026; Expects Dual Engines to Drive Full-fledged Growth
Pony.ai has validated its Robotaxi business model in two of China's largest cities, demonstrating core strengths in mass production, service operation and fully driverless technology. Built on these capabilities, the company is rapidly expanding across both domestic and international markets through a dual-engine strategy.
GUANGZHOU, China, March 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pony AI Inc. ("Pony.ai") (NASDAQ: PONY; HKEX: 2026), a global leader in the large-scale commercialization of autonomous driving technology, today announced financial results that point to accelerating momentum in its robotaxi commercialization, with growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 extending into 2026 as the company scales its fleet, expands into new markets and deepens collaboration across its ecosystem.
According to the company's unaudited financial results released today, robotaxi revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025 rose 160% year over year, while fare-charging revenue surged more than 500%, driven by fleet expansion and increasing user adoption.
"2025 marked an amazing year for Pony.ai. We realized scaling-up in top-line, Robotaxi fleet size, operational footprint and user base, while validating our business model by achieving unit economics ("UE") breakeven in multiple tier-one cities in China." said Dr. James Peng, Founder and CEO of Pony.ai, "as we look to 2026, we believe the foundation we have established in China will enable us to replicate this model in overseas markets and build dual growth engines to support our next phase of accelerated growth."
The company expects its top-line will grow at a faster speed in 2026, as it will scale up fleet size to over 3,000 and expand operational areas to deploy Robotaxis in over 20 cities globally. Among these cities, nearly half will be located in overseas markets.
Dual-Engine Strategy to Drive Stronger Growth
A key driver of Pony.ai's accelerated growth has been the expansion of its robotaxi services as its dual-engine strategy across China and overseas markets continues to gain traction. Its total fleet expanded to 1,446 units as of March 25 from less than 300 units nearly a year ago.
Commercialization momentum continued to strengthen, driven by rising user adoption, increasing paid orders, and improving unit economics. In China, total users approached one million by late March, nearly tripled from a year ago. By mid-February, total paid Robotaxi orders in Shenzhen this year had already exceeded the city's full-year 2025 total. On March 22, its seventh-generation ("Gen-7") robotaxi fleet in Shenzhen achieved an all-time high of RMB 394 in daily revenue per vehicle, with 25 orders per vehicle. In February, Pony.ai also achieved UE breakeven in Shenzhen, following the same milestone in neighboring Guangzhou in late 2025.
Pony.ai's confidence in the sustained growth of its Robotaxi business is rooted in its strong autonomous driving technology and the rider experience it delivers. "Our PonyWorld model and AI Virtual Driver deliver a demonstrably superior ride experience, seamlessly navigating peak-hour traffic, extreme weather, and complex road conditions. This translates into a consistent, reliable and high-quality 24/7 service that exceeds many riders' expectation, fostering greater user willingness to pay. In turn, this enables us to implement balanced pricing, the key drivers behind our positive UE," said Dr. Tiancheng Lou, CTO of Pony.ai.
Operational expansion is also unfolding across a broader set of markets at home and abroad. In China, the company expanded into Changsha and Hangzhou in March, two emerging new tier-one cities. Internationally, it began deployment in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia in Europe. In the Middle East, Pony.ai launched its first commercial fare-charging robotaxi service in Doha, Qatar, through cooperation with Mowasalat Karwa, and is progressing toward the official approval to conduct fully driverless operation later this March in Dubai.
"With Gen-7 already delivering commercial results in China and unit-economics breakeven achieved in multiple tier-one cities, we believe we are entering a new stage of scaled commercialization," Peng said. "By deepening collaboration with ecosystem partners and advancing our joint deployment model, we believe we can expand more efficiently and accelerate fleet deployment across markets."
Joint Deployment Model Boosts Capital Efficiency
To support that next phase of expansion, Pony.ai said it plans to further advance a joint deployment model with partners to improve capital efficiency and drive stronger growth in both robotaxi fleet expansion and top-line revenue.
The joint deployment model is a win-win partnership in which Pony.ai provides autonomous driving solution, partners provide vehicle funding support, and both parties share operating revenues. According to Pony.ai, it has already adopted this model in partnerships with Toyota, Chenqi Mobility in Guangzhou and ATBB in Beijing.
Fleet expansion is also being supported by Pony.ai's multi-OEM partnerships, including its deepened strategic partnership with Toyota, which enabled the February start of mass production for one of its Gen-7 models. Pony.ai expects 1,000 bZ4X robotaxis to be produced in 2026 to support further deployment.
Improved Quarterly Results Reflect Strengthened Financial Position
Pony.ai reported net income of US$75.5 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a net loss of US$181.1 million in the same period of 2024. The company said the first-ever quarterly profitability was primarily attributable to an increase in the fair value of trading securities.
"Our first-ever quarterly GAAP-level net profit demonstrated the success of our strategic investments across the ecosystem. We are making front-loaded investment to drive our commercialization at a quicker pace. Backed by our strengthened balance sheet and disciplined investments, we are poised for our next phase of accelerating growth." said Dr. Leo Wang, CFO of Pony.ai.
For the full year of 2025, total revenue rose 20% year over year to US$90.0 million, driven mainly by strong growth in robotaxi and licensing and applications revenues. Net loss narrowed 72% to US$76.8 million.
Beyond robotaxi, Pony.ai said its other business lines also delivered robust performance. Robotruck service revenues were US$40.6 million in 2025, supported by deeper cooperation with Sinotrans to enhance fleet operations. Licensing and applications revenue rose 19.7%, driven mainly by growing demand for the company's autonomous domain controller from customers in low-speed robot delivery, robosweepers, logistics, and humanoid robotics sectors.
Cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, restricted cash and long-term debt instruments for wealth management stood at US$1,514.8 million as of December 31, 2025, compared to the balance of US$587.7 million as of September 30, 2025.
SOURCE Pony AI Inc.
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