Autonomous driving company Pony.ai has expanded its partnership with Sunlight Mobility to adopt an asset-light operational model aimed at accelerating deployment of its next-generation robotaxi fleet.
Under the agreement, Sunlight Mobility will fund production and rollout of Pony.ai’s Gen-7 Robotaxi vehicles, with initial operations planned for Guangzhou before the end of 2025.
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The agreement builds on an earlier collaboration signed in June 2024. Sunlight Mobility, which operates digital mobility services across more than 180 Chinese cities, will take on vehicle funding responsibilities, while Pony.ai will supply its Virtual Driver autonomous technology. The companies said the model is intended to enable faster and more capital-efficient fleet scaling as third-party operators increasingly support deployment costs.
Fleet integration will extend across both companies’ platforms, providing shared access for users and aligning economic incentives. The partnership is expected to expand to additional Chinese cities after the initial Guangzhou launch.
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Sunlight Mobility will contribute operational capabilities in areas including high-volume user traffic management, product feature development and fleet dispatch optimisation. The firms said these functions are designed to support reliable and efficient autonomous vehicle operations as the network grows.
Pony.ai described the agreement as further evidence of market acceptance of its asset-light strategy, which aims to reduce capital burdens while accelerating adoption of autonomous mobility services.
