Shanghai (Gagsoo)- Pony.ai and BAIC BJEV on January 10 agreed to a "five-in-one" comprehensive strategic upgrade, kicking off their Cooperation 2.0 phase. Building on successful large-scale production and operations of Level 4 robotaxis, the partners will broaden and deepen collaboration, focusing on the industrialization, commercialization and globalization of autonomous driving.
Image source: Pony.ai (same below)
The collaboration rests on five core pillars — product co-creation, joint market development, integrated industry chain, ecosystem co-building and capital synergy — mobilizing resources worth billions to catalyze coordinated growth across smart driving and extend cooperation from single projects to end-to-end alignment.
On product co-creation, the partners will move from a "single model" to a full portfolio. Drawing on mass-production experience with the ARCFOX Alpha T5 Robotaxi, they will engineer Level 4 autonomous models from the ground up and build a richer robotaxi lineup. Proven product know-how and technical solutions will also be carried into advanced intelligent-driving passenger cars under a "factory-installed, mass-producible" standard, tightly integrating strategic resources.
On market development, they aim to take a China-validated autonomous-driving approach global. The ARCFOX Alpha T5 Robotaxi, along with its operating playbook, will be pushed into strategic markets in the Middle East and Europe. It's not just vehicles going overseas, but a globalization of technical standards, operating models and the broader business ecosystem. Pony.ai has already established deployments in eight countries, including Luxembourg, Qatar, the UAE and South Korea, and its local experience and infrastructure will support this expansion.
In the Cooperation 2.0 phase, Pony.ai and BAIC BJEV are targeting a long-term partnership, advancing new collaboration that fuses the industry chain, ecosystem and capital.
On the industry-chain front, the two will launch actions to "fill, build, stabilize and upgrade" the supply chain, accelerating the mass production of Level 4 vehicles in China. Pony.ai will work closely with BAIC BJEV's OEM supplier network to optimize performance requirements, maintenance costs and total lifecycle costs for Level 4 models — steadily lowering robotaxi BOM and operating costs. By defining new standards and stimulating new demand, they also plan to cultivate and scale a domestic cluster of advanced intelligent-driving suppliers.
For ecosystem building, BAIC BJEV will coordinate the integration of BAIC Group's mobility platforms such as BAIC Mobility (Huaxia Travel), together with aftersales resources for repair, maintenance and charging, to mesh with Pony.ai's robotaxi fleet. The goal is to connect the full value chain — from vehicle R&D and manufacturing to customer acquisition, operations, maintenance and finance — accelerating large-scale deployment and profitability of autonomous ride-hailing, and serving a broader user base.
On capital synergy, the partners will deepen linkages on top of existing mutual investments. Future capital cooperation will more tightly focus on technology R&D, supply-chain investment and global market expansion — forging a deeply bound model of "co-develop technology, co-expand business, co-invest capital."
So far, mass production of the ARCFOX Alpha T5 Robotaxi has exceeded 600 units, helping Pony.ai surpass its 1,000-unit target for 2025 and laying the groundwork to reach 3,000 units by end-2026. The model is already in service in Beijing's Yizhuang and Shenzhen's Nanshan districts, covering scenarios such as airports and high-speed rail stations, with plans to expand to more of China's top-tier cities this year.
