“We hope to launch 1,000 units of robotaxis in the Middle East by 2028,” said Ann Yu Shi, vice president of strategy and business development at Nasdaq-listed Pony AI on Wednesday.
The move came as Pony AI secured a permit for robotaxis in Dubai, paving the way for road testing in designated areas of the city.
Chinese robotaxi companies have been expanding aggressively in the Middle East as they push to grow their fleets and reach profitability.
Pony AI has already partnered with ride-hailing giant Uber in Dubai and with transport company Mowasalat in Doha. Its rival in the Chinese robotaxi race, Baidu, announced Wednesday that it received 50 testing licenses for robotaxis in Dubai. WeRide also has a tie-up with Uber in Dubai.
“The Middle East is a very interesting market as it connects the west and the east and the region has its unique advantage on international exposure,” Shi told The Wall Street Journal. The local population is also quite open to new technology, making investments in the region worthwhile, she added.
As more robotaxis hit the streets and the technology advances, the industry is nearing what analysts say is an inflection point, after which each new vehicle added to fleets improves the operator’s profitability.
By the late 2030s, the global robotaxi fleet excluding the U.S. could reach 6 million vehicles, UBS analysts wrote in a recent note. They project the potential market excluding both China and the U.S. at around $212 billion.
Dubai aims to have autonomous driving vehicles for 25% of all transportation trips in the city by 2030.
