Shares of Pony.ai (PONY) rocketed 32% on Friday after announcing it will launch robotaxi operations in Guangzhou’s city center running to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Guangzhou South Railway Station. The Chinese autonomous vehicle stock is the first and only company approved so far to provide such robotaxi services.
Pony.ai operates a fleet of 250 robotaxis across major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.
The robotaxi stock only went public in December, offering shares in an IPO that priced PONY stock at $13 a share. Since its debut, shares are up 82%, closing Friday at $23.61 per share.
Pony had previously announced it was expanding into shuttle services at Hong Kong International Airport and had received approval to begin testing autonomous trucks on highways that connect Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province.
The trucks will operate as a “platoon,” which requires only the lead truck to have a driver while the vehicles following behind operate autonomously. Pony says the goal is The next phase will focus on achieving fully driverless fleets to drive the mass commercialization of autonomous trucks is to have fully driverless fleets to drive the mass commercialization of autonomous trucks. It operates a fleet of over 190 robotrucks in China.
Having established a presence in Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East, Pony is looking forward to even more expansion opportunities.
Although Pony.ai is currently not profitable, Bank of America forecasts it will operate in the black as soon as 2029.
The robotaxi operator generated revenue of $71.9 million in 2023, up 5% from 2022 while cutting operating losses 16% to $143 million. Net losses fell 15% to $125.3 million. It currently has $473 million in cash, equivalents, and short-term investments on its balance sheet and no long-term debt, though it had $3 million in operating leases and other non-current liabilities.
It makes Pony.ai financially secure as it plans further expansion.
