Chinese autonomous-driving company Pony.ai announced on Monday that its cumulative autonomous-driving distance worldwide has surpassed 100 million kilometers, marking a milestone as China’s driverless sector moves from technology validation toward mass production and scaled commercial deployment. The company launched commercial robotaxi services in Zagreb, Croatia on April 8. Industry experts said the next phase of competition will hinge on deploying technology at scale, achieving commercially viable costs, and replicating across transport scenarios and markets. Pony.ai’s fourth-generation L4 autonomous electric heavy-duty truck has entered mass production, with commercial operations expected to begin in the coming months; the company plans to deploy 500 to 1,000 trucks over the next two to three years across long-haul freight, bulk cargo transport and port logistics. Autonomous-driving hardware costs for the fourth-generation heavy truck are about 70 percent lower than the previous generation. The bill-of-materials cost of the autonomous-driving kit for its seventh-generation robotaxi has fallen 70 percent from the previous generation, helping the company achieve unit-economics breakeven in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. Pan Helin, a member of the Expert Committee for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said continuous road testing allows L4 systems to adapt to local traffic conditions. Pony.ai aims to expand its robotaxi fleet to more than 3,000 vehicles by the end.