Autonomous Vehicle Tech Developer Partners with China’s Guangzhou Auto

Silicon Valley-based startup Pony.ai and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. (GAC) have agreed to develop self-driving technology and other new mobility systems.

The deal includes an unspecified capital program. Pony.ai says it will work with GAC on research, development and manufacturing programs.

Pony.ai used the signing to demonstrate its autonomous vehicle technology in four Lincoln MKZ sedans and two GAC Chuanqi compact SUVs. The tests took place over a 1.7-mile loop in Guangzhou’s Nansha district. Poni.ai says the occasion was the first in China in which the general public rode in self-driving cars on city streets. Nansha aims to become a test base for autonomous vehicles under China’s Ministry of Transportation.

The tests featured three consecutive lane change maneuvers, large multi-lane intersections and bridge-crossings involving sloped roads. Pony.ai, which previously has tested Level 4 autonomous vehicles in California, says it adapted its technology over the last three months to better handle driving, road and weather patterns (including heavy rain) specific to China.

Pony.ai was founded in late 2016 by CEO James Peng and Chief Technical Officer Tiancheng Lou. The executives previously worked together on the self-driving programs at both Baidu Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google Project X (now called Waymo).

The company, which raised $112 million in January, hopes to launch an autonomous fleet in 2020. Among its technology partners are Velodyne (lidar), AutonomouStuff (engineering and software services) and BDStar Navigation (sensors).