Chinese self-driving company Pony.ai's robotaxi will begin operating on Korean roads in earnest. The plan is to begin commercial service in Seoul around 2028 and then expand the service area to several cities in Korea.
FutureLink announced on the 30th that it signed a 'strategic cooperation agreement' with Pony.ai at Conrad Seoul in Yeouido, Seoul on the 28th. The signing ceremony was attended by Pony.ai co-founder and CEO James Fung, FutureLink and PonyLink Chairman Nam Kyung-pil, and FutureLink CEO Cha Doo-won.
The key to this agreement is to introduce Pony.ai's 7th generation robotaxi into Korea and operate it as a commercial service. The two companies plan to convert the technology verification conducted in the Gangnam autonomous driving pilot district in Seoul to the actual service operation stage. The two companies also plan to establish a joint venture in the future.
Since last year, FutureLink has been conducting day and night demonstrations in the Gangnam area with vehicles equipped with Pony.ai's autonomous driving development kit. In the future, the plan is to import domestically certified 7th generation self-driving vehicles and operate a robotaxi service that citizens actually use.
Founded in 2016, Pony.ai was listed on the U.S. Nasdaq in 2024 and is conducting completely unmanned commercial operations without safety personnel in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, China.
FutureLink, an autonomous driving business subsidiary of KOSDAQ-listed PonyLink, has been localizing Pony.ai technology in Korea by driving approximately 80,000 km without accident in Gangnam, Seoul with a modified Kona Electric vehicle to date.
FutureLink is responsible for acquiring domestic certification, entering the market, and operating services, while Pony.ai provides autonomous driving technology and supports domestic operation. Once certification is completed, we plan to expand the service to major cities, starting with Seoul.
Initially, 200 units will be deployed. The vehicle is a model produced by Beijing Automobile in China.
James Fung, CEO of Pony.ai, said, “Vehicle certification is the first step toward commercialization,” and added, “After receiving certification, we plan to deploy fully unmanned robotaxi on Korean roads.” He continued, “Pony.ai’s ultimate goal is to make self-driving mobility available anywhere.”
FutureLink and Pony.ai expect to receive Korean government certification by 2028 and be able to operate fully unmanned autonomous vehicles on Korean roads.
FutureLink CEO Cha Doo-won said, "Even in Korea, there is a lot of interest in the self-driving industry, to the extent that the government announced plans to deploy 3,000 self-driving cars. FutureLink's ultimate goal is to localize Pony.ai technology to suit the Korean environment and provide high-quality self-driving services in Korea while complying with Korean regulations and related regulations."
CEO Feng said Pony.ai plans to deploy more than 4,000 autonomous vehicles, mainly in Europe and the Middle East.
He emphasized that Pony.ai is competitive in safety, vehicle integration, cost management, and operational efficiency compared to competitors such as Tesla in the United States, and that it has accumulated experience of driving more than 100 million km on public roads.
Regarding concerns about Chinese autonomous driving companies entering the country, FutureLink emphasized the need to strengthen industrial competitiveness through technological cooperation.
Chairman Nam Kyung-pil said, "If we find a way to introduce Pony.ai's advanced technology to Korea and expand the scope of localization, it can help not only FutureLink but also the development of the entire Korean autonomous driving industry."
A line was drawn regarding the possibility of data being transferred overseas. FutureLink Executive Director Seunghyun Yoon said, “We do not transfer data collected domestically overseas.”
