"First Robotaxi stock" is here? Pony.ai and WeRide both announced they are expected to go public on November 6.

Two leading autonomous driving companies—Pony.ai and WeRide—are extending their competition from the road to the capital market. Both companies have issued announcements that they plan to be listed simultaneously on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 6. The race to claim the title of "the first Robotaxi stock in Hong Kong" has already begun.

On October 28, WeRide announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it plans to issue 88.25 million shares (subject to over-allotment option), with an issue price not exceeding HKD 35 per share (unless otherwise announced), and is expected to begin trading on November 6.

On the same day, Pony.ai announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it intends to issue 41.9557 million shares (subject to the adjustment and over-allotment options). Unless otherwise announced, the issue price will not exceed HKD 180 per share. The stock is expected to begin trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 6.

This move marks yet another direct showdown between the two autonomous driving unicorns in the same capital market, after their listing on Nasdaq in 2024.

Domestic Full Licensing vs International Multi-Licensing

Although both companies are in the Robotaxi sector, Pony.ai and WeRide’s development strategies show some differences.

According to information from prospectuses cited by "21st Century Business Herald," Pony.ai focuses more on deeply cultivating the Chinese domestic market, while WeRide is ahead in international expansion.

Pony.ai is the only company in China to have obtained all necessary regulatory permits for providing public autonomous driving travel services in all four top-tier cities—Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai—and offers fully driverless paid services in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. The company has a fleet of over 680 proprietary autonomous taxis, with cumulative autonomous driving mileage exceeding 47.9 million kilometers.

By contrast, WeRide’s business has expanded to 11 countries and more than 30 cities, making it the world’s only tech company with autonomous driving licenses in 7 countries. According to its prospectus, WeRide operates over 700 autonomous taxis and runs the largest autonomous fleet in Abu Dhabi, Middle East.

Image source: "21st Century Business Herald"

The two companies also have different focuses regarding their revenue composition and commercialization priorities.

Prospectus data shows that Pony.ai’s autonomous truck (Robotruck) business currently contributes the bulk of its revenue. In 2024, revenue from this sector reached USD 40.365 million, accounting for 53% of total revenue. This is reportedly thanks to a joint venture with Sinotrans to expand the market. In the same period, revenue from autonomous ride services (Robotaxi) accounted for 9.4%.

WeRide’s Robotaxi business shows strong growth momentum. According to its prospectus, revenue from Robotaxi-related services jumped from 13.2% in 2024 to 31% in the first half of 2025. In addition, the company has commercially launched autonomous minibuses and unmanned sanitation vehicles. Both companies’ revenue from technology licensing services is between 30% and 40%.

Pony.ai CEO James Peng: Large-scale L4 is coming, Chinese companies have the advantage

Though commercialization paths differ, both companies have set their sights on scaling L4 autonomous driving.

Pony.ai co-founder and CEO James Peng said in an exclusive interview with WallstreetCN that L4 autonomous driving is a "species" completely different from L2 assisted driving—the latter is a “red ocean,” whereas L4 is facing a “blue ocean,” and large-scale adoption is “coming very soon.”

Asked about the unique advantages of Chinese autonomous driving tech companies compared to overseas firms like Tesla and Waymo, Peng said Chinese companies started a bit later, but have developed rapidly in recent years.

He believes that China’s mature automobile industry chain is rapidly driving down costs—the hardware cost of his company’s seventh generation autonomous system has dropped by 70%, which is key for scaling up.

Peng emphasized that the core of L4 market competition is not price, but “who climbs the hill first,” that is, who can first systematically optimize technology, cost, and business models.

Robotaxi: Is the road to profitability still long?

For the industry as a whole, the road to scalable profitability is still long and full of challenges.

Angel investor Guo Tao said that domestic regulatory policies are becoming increasingly sophisticated, paving the way for large-scale commercialization. However, Zhang Yue, chairman of AOYO International, believes stable profitability for the Robotaxi business will still take five to ten years.

Peng also admitted to WallstreetCN that achieving large-scale deployment is a “very big challenge” for the company. He believes that in order to realize supply-demand network effects, fleet scale needs to reach at least ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand vehicles, which may still take 15 years.

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