Pony.ai · robotaxi
BotRide
Hyundai KONA Electric
A short public ride-hail trial in which Hyundai electric SUVs ran Pony.ai's self-driving system and Via handled booking. Every car had a human safety driver.
- Price
- —service only, not sold
- Autonomy
- Level 4No driver needed in its area
- Driverless
- Not yetSafety driver on board
- Fleet
- 10Reported; details below
- Speed
- —Not published
- Range
- —Not published
Why it matters
Pony.ai's company timeline calls it California's first public robotaxi service.
Real-world use
Ten KONA Electric SUVs with safety drivers gave public rides in Irvine, California, from 4 November 2019 through January 2020, booked through Via's app.
Maker
Pony.aiCompanyHow it drives
Fleet and city figures move fast; each carries its date and who reported it.
- Driverless status
- Safety driver on board
- Where it runs
- Irvine, California (2019-2020 trial)
- Fleet
- 10 vehicles (VentureBeat, Oct 2019)
- SAE level
- Level 4: drives itself with no one at the controls inside its approved area
Public attention
A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current vehicles.
- No Wikipedia article of its own yet
- No recent press stories listed yet
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-13; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
No component details published yet.
- Movement
- Wheeled base
- How it runs
- Supervised. Works by itself while a person watches and steps in.
Lineage
Every Pony.ai with Hyundai and Via vehicle in order.
Pony.ai Lexus RX robotaxi2019Pilot use- BotRide (Hyundai KONA Electric)2019Retired
PonyTron L4 truck (FAW Jiefang J7)2021Retired
Pony.ai Gen-6 robotaxi (Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS)2022Commercial
Pony.ai-SANY L4 heavy truck2022Pilot use
Pony.ai Gen-7 robotaxi (BAIC ARCFOX Alpha T5)2025Commercial
Pony.ai Gen-7 robotaxi (GAC Aion V, 2nd gen)2025Commercial
Pony.ai Gen-7 robotaxi (Toyota bZ4X)2025Commercial
Pony.ai Gen-4 autonomous truck2025Commercial
Pony.ai L4 light-duty truck2026Pilot use
Made, sold and where
No production or sales figures published yet.
- Price
- Not publishedservice only, not sold
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
Side by side with its peers
Picked by the same rules for every robot: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. How we choose
| Measure | BotRide (Hyundai KONA Electric)Pony.ai with Hyundai and Via |  Argo AI third-generation test vehicle (Ford Fusion Hybrid)Argo AI with FordSame job: ride-hail · Both on wheels · Both past robots |  Easy Ride robo-vehicle (Nissan LEAF)Nissan with DeNASame job: ride-hail · Both on wheels · Both past robots |  Aptiv self-driving BMW 5 Series (Lyft Las Vegas)Aptiv (later Motional)Same job: ride-hail · Both on wheels · Both past robots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First shown | 2019-10-25 | 2019 | 2017-12 | 2018-01 |
| Status | Retired | Retired | Retired | Retired |
| Height | — | — | — | — |
| Weight | — | — | — | — |
| Joints | — | — | — | — |
| Speed | — | — | — | — |
| Payload | — | — | — | — |
| Battery | — | — | — | — |
| Price | — | — | — | — |
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
Photos and logos only identify each robot and its maker. Simbeing is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsing any company, and nothing here is advertising. Figures are for statistics only and are not advice of any kind. Terms of use