Pony.ai begins road testing of ARCFOX Alpha T5 Robotaxi in Shenzhen as Gen-7 autonomous driving system enters mass deployment

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Pony.ai recently launched road testing in Shenzhen for BAIC's ARCFOX Alpha T5 Robotaxi equipped with its Gen-7 autonomous driving system, marking a major step toward scaling its fleet to over 1,000 vehicles by the end of 2025, according to a press release Pony.ai issued on July 14 via its WeChat account.

The milestone follows the rollout of multiple Robotaxi models powered by the Gen-7 system, including the GAC's 2nd-gen AION V, which previously received road testing permits in both Guangzhou and Shenzhen cities.

Following the system's debut at the AUTO SHANGHAI 2025 in April, Pony.ai moved swiftly to bring it into mass production—announcing the rollout of both GAC and BAIC-based Robotaxi units in June and July. The company's autonomous driving stack has been deeply integrated with vehicles from both automakers, with production and assembly processes meeting rigorous safety and quality standards.

Shortly after production began, vehicles with the new system commenced road testing in two of China’s most complex urban environments—Guangzhou and Shenzhen. These trials are designed to validate system performance under real-world conditions, ranging from local traffic behavior and varied road design to weather differences, testing the Level 4 self-driving system's scalability, reliability, and adaptability across cities.

This phase marks a transition for Pony.ai's Gen-7  technology—from controlled environments and simulation labs to live traffic deployment. The company's seventh-gen Robotaxi, developed under its "Kunlun" mass-production initiative launched in 2023, reflects two years of forward engineering, manufacturing validation, and productization.

"2025 will mark the first true volume production year for Pony.ai's Robotaxi," said Pony.ai CEO James Peng. With the significantly improved cost-efficiency of its seventh-generation platform, the company is on track to scale up to a fleet of more than 1,000 autonomous vehicles by year-end, laying the groundwork for smarter, safer, and more efficient urban mobility.