By Kate Yuan

(JW Insights) Nov 6 -- China's self-driving startup Pony.ai (小马智行) and Toyota jointly released their first pure electric autonomous taxi (Robotaxi) concept car at the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai (November 5-10).

The vehicle is based on the bZ4X electric vehicle platform produced by GAC Toyota and will be equipped with Pony.ai's seventh-generation L4 autonomous driving passenger vehicle software and hardware system.

This is the latest development following the establishment of a joint venture between Pony.ai, Toyota China, and GAC Toyota in August this year to promote the large-scale deployment of Robotaxi.

Currently, the three parties have been conducting research and development cooperation on the Robotaxi model, advancing works such as styling design, vehicle platform development, and autonomous driving system and manufacturing.

In the future, this model will become the first vehicle to undertake the task of promoting the large-scale implementation of fully autonomous driving through the joint venture.

Founded in 2016 in Silicon Valley, Pony.ai has become a global leader in autonomous mobility and is a pioneer in extending autonomous mobility technologies and services around the world. The company operates Robotaxi, Robotruck and Personally Owned Vehicle (POV) business units, according to its website.

Pony.ai revealed that the focus of their seventh-generation system's R&D is on the urban-level implementation of fully autonomous driving. It aims to reduce the cost of the system solution's bill of materials (BOM) to prepare for commercialization.