In autonomous and self-driving vehicle news are Pony.ai, Zoox and Tesla:
Pony.ai & Sunlight Mobility Asset-Light Robotaxis
Pony.ai announced a major expansion of its partnership with Sunlight Mobility, adopting an asset-light model that allows the mobility platform to fund Pony.ai’s Gen-7 Robotaxi fleet. The first vehicles will launch in Guangzhou before the end of 2025, with broader rollout planned across additional Chinese cities.
The agreement deepens a collaboration that began in 2024 and reflects growing market confidence in Pony.ai’s Robotaxi business, as more third parties are willing to finance fleet deployments and lease the company’s Virtual Driver autonomous system.
Sunlight Mobility, which operates in more than 180 cities, will integrate the jointly operated autonomous fleet into both companies’ platforms, combining its digital mobility expertise with Pony.ai’s technology to enhance user experience, improve efficiency, and create shared economic benefits.
Panasonic Energy 2170 Li-Ion Cells for Zoox
Panasonic Energy has signed a multi-year agreement to supply its advanced 2170 cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells to Zoox, Amazon’s autonomous ride-hailing subsidiary. Deliveries will begin in early 2026 to support Zoox’s growing purpose-built robotaxi fleet, now scaling production at its Hayward, CA facility and expanding service in cities such as Las Vegas.
The 2170 cells—known for high energy density, safety, and reliability—will initially ship from Japan, with future production planned at Panasonic Energy’s Kansas plant. Panasonic cites its record of supplying 20 billion cells without battery-related vehicle recalls as evidence of quality.
The partnership aligns with rapid growth in the robotaxi sector, with the U.S. market valued at $0.45B in 2024 and projected to grow more than 70% annually through 2030. Global robotaxi revenue is forecast to reach $40–50B by 2030.
Executives from both companies highlighted the collaboration as a milestone in advancing safer, cleaner, and scalable urban mobility.
Tesla to “Double” Austin Robotaxi Fleet
Elon Musk announced that Tesla will “roughly double” its Robotaxi fleet in Austin next month, but the actual numbers reveal a major shortfall from Tesla’s own goals. Musk previously promised 500 Robotaxis in Austin by the end of the year, yet the current fleet is estimated at only about 30 vehicles. Doubling that would bring the total to roughly 60—far below the stated target.
Tesla’s Austin Robotaxi pilot, launched in June, uses supervised Model Y vehicles equipped with Hardware 4, not the driverless “Cybercab” shown in October. A Tesla employee remains in the vehicle to monitor operations. The service has struggled with long wait times and “High Service Demand” messages, not due to actual demand but because of the fleet’s very small size.