China's Pony.ai to Deploy 200 Robotaxis in Seoul, Targeting Fully Driverless Service by 2028 Chinese autonomous driving company Pony.ai has officially announced plans to operate fully driverless robotaxis in Seoul. In partnership with South Korean partner FutureLink, the company will phase in 200 seventh-generation robotaxis, targeting fully driverless service without safety drivers by 2028 at the latest. The two companies signed a strategic cooperation agreement on the 28th at the Conrad Hotel in Seoul's Yeouido district and unveiled their business plans. They will first import 10 vehicles to undergo safety and performance certification procedures with South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority's Automobile Safety Research Institute (KATRI). Once certification is complete, the remaining 190 vehicles will be brought in and deployed in the Seoul Autonomous Driving Pilot Zone and other areas. The vehicles are seventh-generation robotaxis co-developed by Pony.ai and BAIC Group. Unlike previous models that were retrofitted from existing vehicles, these were designed with autonomous driving in mind from the production stage. Sensors, computing systems, and power and braking systems are all redundant, and remote monitoring capabilities are built in. Component costs have been reduced to 70% of the previous generation, and more than 2,000 units are currently operating in China and elsewhere. James Peng, co-founder and CEO of Pony.ai, said, "The 200 vehicles currently planned are only the first phase," adding, "Our goal is to deploy fully driverless robotaxis on South Korean roads after vehicle certification." He emphasized that the South Korean volume is separate from the previously announced plan to deploy 4,000 vehicles in Europe and the Middle East, adding, "If the business proceeds successfully, we will increase the number of vehicles." Confidence from 87,000 km of testing in Gangnam This plan effectively transitions two years of domestic testing by