GUANGZHOU, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 8, 2025--
Pony.ai (NASDAQ: PONY), a global leader in the large-scale commercialization of autonomous mobility, announced that it plans to provide driverless transportation services at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), one of the world's busiest airports. Pony.ai also plans to gradually expand its robotaxi transportation services into urban Hong Kong in the future. The Airport Authority Hong Kong recently showcased several autonomous vehicles to the media, including Pony.ai's seven-seat, sixth-generation robotaxi. Pony.ai plans to initially shuttle airport employees.
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This announcement is a major milestone and represents a substantial first step for Pony.ai's leading autonomous vehicle technology in the Hong Kong market. Hong Kong will provide even more unique driving opportunities for Pony.ai's leading autonomous vehicle technology to shine, including: left-side of the road driving, dense traffic and a highly complex driving environment such as special types of traffic intersections.
HKIA is one of the world's busiest airports by passenger and cargo volume. Pony.ai currently operates paid robotaxi services to and from Beijing Daxing International Airport and is testing its autonomous vehicles on the main roadways to and from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.
This news comes on the heels of a December 27th announcement in which Pony.ai was named among the first batch of companies to receive mutual recognition qualification in operating cross-regional autonomous robotaxi services throughout major cities in China's Greater Bay Area region, including Guangzhou and Shenzhen, among them. In the future, Pony.ai's autonomous vehicles will seamlessly shuttle between mutually recognized locations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, with cross-city autonomous vehicle services connecting airports and high-speed rail stations, providing local residents with safe, reliable and convenient robotaxi transportation experiences.
Pony.ai is among the first in China to obtain licenses to operate fully driverless vehicles in all four Tier-1 cities in China (Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen) and has begun to offer public-facing, fare-charging robotaxi services without safety drivers in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Pony.ai has also expanded its presence to Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, and other markets, ensuring widespread accessibility to its advanced technology.
On the public roads of China’s metropolises, Pony.ai has achieved what was once only depicted in science fiction — building a car that drives itself. Today, a commute in a driverless Pony.ai robotaxi is not merely a display of groundbreaking technology, but becoming a part of the daily lives for many residents in these communities. As intuitive as a trip in a traditional taxi, hailing a ride with Pony.ai’s robotaxi offers everyone a revolutionary mobility option to make streets safer and greener, changing the way the world moves.
Pony.ai's average daily orders received per robotaxi exceeded 15 in the six months ended June 30, 2024, setting a key milestone toward large-scale commercialization of Level 4 robotaxis.
About Pony.ai
Pony AI Inc. (“Pony.ai”) (NASDAQ: PONY) is a global leader in the large-scale commercialization of autonomous mobility. Leveraging its vehicle-agnostic Virtual Driver technology – a full-stack autonomous driving technology that seamlessly integrates its proprietary software, hardware, and services, Pony.ai is developing a commercially viable and sustainable business model that enables the mass production and deployment of vehicles across transportation use cases. Founded in 2016, Pony.ai has expanded its presence across China, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, and other regions, ensuring widespread accessibility to its advanced technology. Pony.ai is among the first in China to obtain licenses to operate fully driverless vehicles in all four Tier-1 cities in China (Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen) and has begun to offer public-facing, fare-charging robotaxi services without safety drivers in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Pony.ai operates a fleet consisting of over 250 robotaxis. To date, Pony.ai has driven nearly 40 million autonomous testing and operation kilometers (nearly 24.8 million miles) on open roads worldwide.
Autonomous vehicles recently displayed at Hong Kong International Airport, including Pony.ai's seven-seat, sixth-generation robotaxi (Photo: Business Wire)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Six months after Missouri voters approved an abortion-rights amendment, Republican state lawmakers on Wednesday approved a new referendum that would seek the amendment's repeal and instead ban most abortions with exceptions for rape an incest.
The newly proposed constitutional amendment would go back to voters in November 2026, or sooner, if Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe calls a special election before then.
Republican senators used a series of rare procedural moves to cut off discussion by opposing Democrats before passing the proposed abortion-rights revision by a 21-11 vote. The measure passed the Republican-led House last month.
Immediately after the vote, protestors erupted with chants of “Stop the ban!” and were ushered out of the Senate chamber.
The Senate then blocked further Democratic debate and gave final approval to a separate measure repealing provisions of a voter-approved law guaranteeing paid sick leave for workers and cost-of-living increases to the minimum wage. That measure does not go back to the ballot. It will instead become law when signed by Kehoe, who has expressed his support for it.
After taking the sweeping votes, the Senate effectively ended its annual legislative session — two days ahead of a constitutional deadline to wrap up work.
Democrats were outraged by the legislative actions and vowed to retaliate by slowing down any Senate work next year.
“Our rights are under attack,” Democratic state Sen. Brian Williams said during debate. He accused Republicans of “trying to overturn the will of the voters.”
Republicans contend they are simply giving voters a second chance on abortion — and are confident they will change their minds because of the new rape and incest exceptions.
“Abortion is the greatest tragedy in the world right now,” Republican state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman said while explaining her efforts to repeal the abortion-rights amendment. If someone's fine with “taking the life of an innocent, then probably you can justify whatever you want.”
Some GOP lawmakers said they needed to repeal the paid sick leave requirement, which kicked in May 1, because it's adding costs that threaten the financial viability of small businesses. Republicans had been negotiating with Democrats over an alternative to exempt only the smallest businesses before scrapping that and opting for the full repeal.
Missouri lawmakers have a history of altering voter-approved policies. They previously tried to block funding for a voter-approved Medicaid expansion and authored changes to voter-approved measures regulating dog breeders and legislative redistricting.
Missouri's abortion policies have swung dramatically in recent years.
When the U.S. Supreme Court ended a nationwide right to abortion by overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, it triggered a Missouri law to take effect banning most abortions. But abortion-rights activists gathered initiative petition signatures to reverse that.
Last November, Missouri voters narrowly approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to abortion until fetal viability, generally considered sometime past 21 weeks of pregnancy. The amendment also allows later abortions to protect the life or health of pregnant women and creates a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom” that includes birth control, prenatal and postpartum care and “respectful birthing conditions.”
A limited number of surgical abortions have since occurred in Missouri, but medication abortions remain on hold while Planned Parenthood wrangles with the state over abortion regulations.
The new measure seeks to repeal the abortion-rights amendment and instead allow abortions only for a medical emergency or fetal anomaly, or in cases of rape or incest up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. It also would prohibit gender transition surgeries, hormone treatments and puberty blockers for minors, which already are barred under state law.
Polling indicates “that most voters are opposed to most abortions in Missouri but do want to allow for abortions with limited exceptions,” said Sam Lee, director of Campaign Life Missouri.
The ballot title that voters will see doesn't explicitly mention repealing Amendment 3. Instead, it says the new measure would “ensure women's safety during abortions, ensure parental consent for minors" and “allow abortions for medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, rape, and incest.” It also states that it will “protect children from gender transition,” among other provisions.
Democratic state Sen. Tracy McCreery called the measure “an attempt to mislead and lie to the voters,” echoing similar accusations that Republicans had made against the original Amendment 3.
An abortion-rights coalition that includes Planned Parenthood affiliates, the American Civil Liberties Union and others planned a rally Thursday at the Missouri Capitol and vowed a vigorous campaign against the measure.
“Abortion rights won in this state six months ago, and mark my words: Missourians will protect reproductive freedom again,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes.
Participants in the Midwest March for Life walk through the streets of Jefferson City, Mo., with the state Capitol in the background on May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
Participants in the Midwest March for Life walk past the Missouri Capitol on May 1, 2025, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
People in support of abortion rights protest outside the Missouri Senate chamber after the Senate voted to approve a referendum seeking to repeal an abortion-rights amendment on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
