KATHMANDU: Self-driving startup Pony.ai has been forced to suspend its autonomous taxi services in Beijing after one of its robotaxis caught fire on May 13. The incident has raised renewed concerns about the safety of driverless vehicles.
According to the company, the vehicle was operating without passengers when it detected an abnormal condition and performed an emergency stop. Although no injuries were reported, the cause of the fire has not yet been disclosed.
Videos of the incident, showing the vehicle engulfed in flames on the street, quickly went viral on Chinese social media. In response, local authorities halted all autonomous vehicle testing and operations by Pony.ai in the capital. The company’s ride-hailing app has also been taken offline in affected areas.
Founded in 2016 by James Peng and Tiancheng Lou, Pony.ai is a leading developer of Level 4 autonomous driving technology. The company is also in operations in the US. It currently operates more than 250 self-driving vehicles across major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Guangzhou.
Before the incident, the company had announced plans to launch its seventh-generation robotaxis by late 2025 in partnership with Toyota China and GAC Toyota. It was targeting to deploy thousands of electric autonomous vehicles.
This marks Pony.ai’s first major safety incident and comes amid growing regulatory scrutiny, particularly in the US. After the incident, the company’s stock dropped more than 10%, reflecting investor concerns about the future of autonomous mobility and the technological challenges ahead.
