China's Pony.ai to more than double robotaxi fleet, debuts in Zagreb

BEIJING, March 26 (Reuters) - Pony.ai PONY.O expects to more than double the fleet of robotaxis powered by its technology to over 3,000 units across more than 20 cities globally this year, the Guangzhou-based firm said on Thursday as it announced its first-ever quarterly profit.

Nearly half of that total will be in overseas markets, including Croatia's capital Zagreb, where the company is planning to launch Europe's first commercial robotaxi service.

Pony.ai, which debuted its international commercial operations in Doha, Qatar, joins other Chinese autonomous driving companies, including WeRide WRD.O and Baidu's 9888.HK Apollo Go, in expanding abroad as China cements its position as a leader in global autonomous driving technology.

Croatian startup Verne will manage the fleet and operations. The service will integrate into Uber's UBER.N ride-hailing platform.

"This partnership creates a more efficient and scalable path to international expansion, with the potential for Pony.ai to share in recurring revenue streams generated through local commercial service," said James Peng, Pony.ai's co-founder and CEO.

Pony.ai has conducted on-road testing in regions such as the Middle East, Singapore, and South Korea.

Further down the road, the company expects to deploy its seventh-generation robotaxis in major European cities on a small scale initially, before expanding collaboration with local automakers to achieve large-scale commercialisation of its technology across the continent, Peng told a post-earnings call.

Pony.ai, which achieved single-unit profitability in the Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, posted a fourth-quarter net profit of $75.5 million, marking its first profitable quarter. The firm attributed the results primarily to increased fair value of trading securities.

Fare-charging revenue grew over six times year-on-year in the fourth quarter, driven by fleet expansion and higher user adoption rates. The company reported a total fleet size of 1,446 cars as of Wednesday, compared to fewer than 300 vehicles a year earlier.