Introduction

In February 2026, Pony.ai achieved a groundbreaking milestone: the Shenzhen Transportation Bureau granted it a city-wide L4 autonomous driving commercial operation permit with fare collection, spanning 10 administrative districts and covering 1,997 square kilometers. This marked Pony.ai as the world’s first Robotaxi company to launch fully operational, paid services across a major metropolis.

However, the online claim that “Shenzhen will be overrun by driverless cars overnight on July 1” is a misinterpretation.

The reality in Shenzhen: You can indeed hail and pay for a ride in a driverless taxi, with fares significantly lower than traditional ride-hailing services. But these vehicles are not as ubiquitous as some might assume.

Let’s delve deeper with Driverless Car Is Here (WeChat ID: DriverlessCarIsHere)!

(For further reading, click: ‘Shenzhen’s Nighttime Driverless Logistics Covers Six Districts! The “Five-Party Co-Op” Mechanism Reveals the Secrets of Driverless Car Operations’)

I. Policy Rollout: Gradual, Not Sudden

First, let’s dispel the biggest myth: The so-called “city-wide deployment of autonomous driving in Shenzhen on July 1, 2026” is a one-sided reading of the amendment to the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Regulations on the Management of Intelligent Connected Vehicles.

While the amendment takes effect on July 1, it provides legislative authorization to “orderly explore full-area open road testing and demonstration applications”—not an immediate mandate for city-wide autonomous driving.

At the municipal level, there is no uniform commercialization timeline. Each district sets its own pace for opening up roads, based on infrastructure readiness and safety evaluations.

The true turning point came in February.

In February 2026, Pony.ai secured a city-wide permit for commercial operations of intelligent connected vehicles with fare collection, becoming the first enterprise globally to achieve full-area L4 commercial operations in a megacity.

This followed half-year pilot programs in Nanshan (March 2025) and Bao’an (January 2026), allowing Pony.ai to gradually expand its operational “territory.”

As of April 2026, 26 cities have received approval from four ministries, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, for L4 fully driverless ride-hailing commercial pilots. Wuhan, for instance, has already implemented 7×24 fully driverless operations.

The right perspective: Shenzhen’s driverless taxis resemble early bike-sharing services—they exist, are accessible via app, and offer affordable fares, but they light up the map gradually, not overnight.

White-collar workers in Futian’s CBD may not be able to hail one just yet, but residents in Pingshan are already using them for daily errands.

II. Pony.ai vs. Apollo Go: Breadth vs. Depth

Shenzhen now hosts two major players with distinct strategies.

Pony.ai leads in “breadth.”

Its permit covers all 10 districts and 1,997 square kilometers. By June 30, 2026, its autonomous taxi fleet had grown to 1,975 vehicles, serving over 1.5 million users.

Cumulative autonomous driving test mileage exceeds 60 million kilometers, with over 10 million kilometers logged in fully driverless mode.

In February 2026, Pony.ai achieved monthly per-vehicle operational profitability in Shenzhen, with an average daily net revenue of 338 RMB per vehicle and 23 daily orders. On March 22, it set a new record with 394 RMB in average daily net revenue per vehicle and 25 daily orders.

Pony.ai’s ambitions extend beyond Shenzhen: It secured a fully driverless permit from California’s DMV in February, entered Singapore in April, and announced a partnership with Uber in August to expand into multiple European cities.

It’s pursuing a “global tour” strategy.

Apollo Go excels in “depth.”

While it lacks a city-wide license, Apollo Go has maximized operations in Pingshan: full-area coverage, over 12,000 pick-up/drop-off points, cumulative operational mileage exceeding 8.3 million kilometers, over 820,000 service orders, and 7×24 fully driverless fare collection.

In March 2026, Pingshan became the first district in China to grant nighttime road access to driverless cars, expanding nighttime delivery routes to 331 and reducing last-mile delivery costs by 30-50%.

This approach follows the logic of “digging one hole deep”: First, master operations in a spacious, low-traffic area like Pingshan to build a strong operational foundation.

User experience: Both services are highly similar. Passengers scan a code to board from the rear seat, with no safety officer on board. An in-car screen displays the route and surrounding traffic, speeds are capped at 60 km/h, and vehicles automatically shut down in extreme weather.

A Pingshan tester described the experience vividly: “It was just 10 meters away but insisted on making a U-turn to pick me up, like a novice driver. But it drove smoothly, yielding to pedestrians automatically—more polite than an experienced driver.”

III. Pricing: The Game-Changer, But With Trade-offs

What truly transforms driverless cars from “novelties” to “practical tools” is pricing.

Pony.ai’s official fare in Shenzhen starts at 10 RMB, with a per-kilometer rate of 2.7 RMB, averaging around 15.76 RMB per trip.

Apollo Go in Pingshan is even more aggressive, with real-world tests showing fares as low as “7 RMB for 7 kilometers”—half or less than traditional ride-hailing.

A trip from Shenzhen North Station to Pingshan, which normally costs 80 RMB, can be cut in half by a driverless car—without awkward driver conversations, pressure for ratings, or detours.

But the affordability comes with trade-offs:

• Fixed stops only: No random pick-ups or drop-offs mid-route. Don’t rely on them if you’re in a hurry for a meeting.
• Speed limit: Generally capped at 60 km/h—a leisurely driving style, even if you’re in a rush.
• Peak-hour wait times: Can exceed 15 minutes when demand is high.
• Weather restrictions: Vehicles shut down in heavy rain or fog. During Shenzhen’s typhoon season, they’ll “call in sick” before you do.
• Limited trunk space: Forget about moving large items.

On safety: Shenzhen’s liability framework is clear. Responsibility is divided based on whether the “autonomous driving system is activated.” When activated, the vehicle owner or manager is liable, and operators must purchase high-value insurance.

Though no one is inside the vehicle, a remote assistance center and rooftop SOS button provide backup. This “enterprise is responsible” rule is precisely what gives L4 the confidence to remove safety officers.

IV. Who Should Ride These Driverless Cars?

Breaking down the user base, the conclusion is clear.

Commuters in Pingshan and Bao’an should embrace the service. For fixed routes, no time pressure, and acceptance of fixed stops, it’s half the price of ride-hailing and more comfortable than the subway—a true money-saver.

Apollo Go’s driverless cars in Pingshan average around 2,000 daily orders, a clear vote of confidence from local commuters.

Thrill-seekers should also give it a try. For under 20 RMB within 10 kilometers, it’s cheaper than a theme park ride—a social currency of “I rode a driverless car in 2026.”

But one group should stay away for now: Those living in downtown Futian or Luohu expecting instant hails.

While Pony.ai holds a city-wide license, its fleet is being rolled out gradually, with fewer vehicles in the city center currently.

A rational expectation: Penetration will increase in the second half of 2026, with significant coverage expansion by early 2027. A full city-wide network will take longer.

For investors eyeing the supply chain, the signals are already in the approvals: 26 pilot cities, 771 kilometers of open test roads, and clear liability subjects mean L4 has evolved from a technical question of “can it run?” to a business question of “the more it runs, the more sensors/computing platforms/cloud control/high-definition maps it consumes.”

The most compelling part of Shenzhen’s driverless car story isn’t the sci-fi thrill of “AI driving” but its willingness to crunch the numbers on “7 RMB for 7 kilometers” for the people.

It’s easy for technology to become an overnight sensation at press conferences; the real challenge is integrating a driverless car into a Pingshan resident’s daily grocery run.

In short, Driverless Car Is Here (WeChat ID: DriverlessCarIsHere) believes:

The day autonomous driving truly goes mainstream isn’t when a company secures a massive license but when an overworked late-night commuter, tired of waiting for the subway and unwilling to pay for a ride, hails a driverless car and thinks, “This is perfectly normal.”

Shenzhen is nurturing this “perfectly normal” feeling, one ride at a time.

What do you think? References: Media reports from Convenience Store Visit, Minimalist Tech, Shenzhen Evening News, Vietnam News Network, Jining Full-Media Rumor Debunking Platform, etc. #DriverlessCarIsHere #AutonomousDriving #SelfDriving #DriverlessCars