This comes after the transport operator established a S$30 million Autonomous Vehicle Centre of Excellence in 2022
COMFORTDELGRO on Wednesday (Jul 31) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with autonomous mobility company Pony.ai to form a strategic partnership for large-scale commercial robotaxi operations in China.
The tie-up aims to help both companies co-develop safe and sustainable autonomous vehicle (AV) solutions to be deployed globally, after commercialising robotaxi operations in the Chinese market.
Pony.ai received permits to operate fully autonomous driving mobility services in China’s Tier-1 cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
It also initiated partnerships and technological deployment in South Korea, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Group chief executive of ComfortDelGro Cheng Siak Kian said the company expects AV technology to alleviate global driver shortage and meet transport demand in underserved areas.
This comes after ComfortDelGro established a S$30 million Autonomous Vehicle Centre of Excellence in 2022, as part of its wider growth strategy. It also has an international taxi network of more than 29,000 vehicles worldwide.
The centre focuses on “developing capabilities for AV operations, maintenance, and building a technology platform for future AV-based mobility services”, the company noted.
Shares of ComfortDelGro were trading 0.7 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$1.41, as at 2.08 pm on Thursday.
