Chinese Robotaxis to Hit South Korean Roads, Starting in Seoul

Robotaxis from the Chinese autonomous driving company Pony.ai are set to hit South Korean roads in earnest.

The plan is to launch commercial services in Seoul around 2028 and then expand the operational areas to various cities across the country.

FutureLink announced on August 28 that it signed a "strategic cooperation agreement" with Pony.ai at Conrad Seoul in Yeouido, Seoul.

Attendees at the agreement ceremony included James Peng, co-founder and CEO of Pony.ai; Nam Kyung-pil, chairman of FutureLink and Ponylink; and Cha Doo-won, CEO of FutureLink.

The core of this agreement is to introduce Pony.ai's 7th-generation robotaxis to South Korea and operate them as a commercial service.

The two companies plan to transition the technological verification previously conducted in the Gangnam Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation District in Seoul into actual service operations.

They also plan to establish a joint venture in the future.

Since last year, FutureLink has been conducting day-and-night test drives in the Gangnam area using vehicles equipped with Pony.ai's autonomous driving development kit.

The vision is to import 7th-generation autonomous vehicles that have received domestic certification and operate a robotaxi service for actual use by citizens.

Established in 2016, Pony.ai was listed on the Nasdaq in the United States in 2024 and currently operates fully driverless commercial services without safety drivers in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, China.

FutureLink, an autonomous driving business subsidiary of the KOSDAQ-listed company Ponylink, has localized Pony.ai's technology in South Korea by driving modified Kona Electric vehicles for about 80,000 kilometers without an accident in Gangnam, Seoul.

FutureLink will be responsible for acquiring domestic certification, market entry, and service operation, while Pony.ai will provide autonomous driving technology and support domestic operations.

Once certification is completed, the service plans to expand from Seoul to major cities.

Initially, 200 vehicles will be deployed.

The vehicles are models produced by China's BAIC Motor.

Pony.ai CEO James Peng stated, "Vehicle certification is the first step toward commercialization," adding, "Once certified, we plan to deploy fully driverless robotaxis on South Korean roads."

Peng further emphasized, "Pony.ai's ultimate goal is to make autonomous driving mobility available anywhere."

FutureLink and Pony.ai expect to obtain South Korean government certification by 2028 and operate fully driverless autonomous vehicles on South Korean roads.

FutureLink CEO Cha Doo-won explained, "The South Korean government is showing great interest in the autonomous driving industry, to the extent that it announced a plan to deploy 3,000 autonomous vehicles domestically."

He added, "FutureLink's ultimate goal is to localize Pony.ai's technology to fit the South Korean environment while complying with South Korea's regulations and related rules, and to provide high-quality autonomous driving services in the country."

CEO Peng stated that Pony.ai plans to deploy more than 4,000 autonomous vehicles centered around Europe and the Middle East.

He also explained that compared to competitors like US-based Tesla, Pony.ai holds competitive advantages in safety, vehicle integration, cost management, and operational efficiency.

In particular, he emphasized that the company has accumulated experience of driving over 100 million kilometers on public roads.

Regarding concerns over the entry of Chinese autonomous driving companies into the domestic market, FutureLink emphasized the need to strengthen industrial competitiveness through technological cooperation.

Chairman Nam Kyung-pil said, "If we introduce Pony.ai's advanced technology to South Korea and find ways to expand the scope of localization together, it can contribute not only to FutureLink but also to the development of South Korea's entire autonomous driving industry."

He drew a line regarding the possibility of transferring data overseas.

Yoon Seung-hyun, a senior executive at FutureLink, stated, "Data collected domestically will not be transferred abroad."
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.