Some members of Pony.ai’s car-building team have left to join other new car-making firms, local media said.
(Image credit: Pony.ai)
The car-building plans of Pony.ai, a Chinese self-driving startup backed by Toyota Motor and Nio, are now stalled and the dozen-strong team based in Jiading, Shanghai, is facing a shake-up, local tech media 36kr.com said today, citing multiple sources.
Some members of the team have already left to join other new car-making powerhouses, one of the sources familiar with the matter said.
Pony.ai may have thought of car building as simple, said one of the employees who has left.
Pony.ai denied this and said it does not have a team of more than 10 people to build cars. As a growing company, it’s only natural to optimize and rationalize the staffing structure, the company said.
In early June, local media reported that Pony.ai had joined the car-making ranks and had set up a team of more than 10 people in Jiading, Shanghai.
Pony.ai’s car-building plans had begun preparations at the beginning of the year, and offers had been made to the heads of intelligent cockpits of many car companies, and the head of a vehicle from a veteran European car company had also received an offer, the reports mentioned at the time.
Pony.ai’s initial plan is to build passenger cars, but it has not yet been determined whether they will be used in self-driving fleets or sold to consumers. pony.ai does not rule out partnerships with car companies, these reports said.
Pony.ai then said its various businesses are advancing rapidly and that it will actively evaluate the prospects of each business segment and adjust its business structure accordingly at any time.
Pony.ai was founded in late 2016 and currently has a team size of more than 500 people. It has R&D centers in Silicon Valley, Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai, and operates Robo-Taxi locally.
In early August, Reuters reported that Pony.ai had put on hold plans to go public in the US through a merger with a blank check company.
On November 9, LatePost said Pony.ai had merged its truck self-driving development team into its passenger car development team. Pan Zhenhao, chief of self-driving technology for the truck division, which had about 100 people, and Sun Haowen, head of the domestic self-driving Planning & Control group, have left after the latest shakeup.
Some of the departures are planning to start businesses, also in the direction of autonomous driving, in competition with Pony.ai, the report said, adding that one of the companies has received investment from SF Express’ venture capital arm and Xpeng Motors.
