- Pony.ai moved from public-road testing to fully driverless commercial Robotaxi service in Doha within four months, reflecting urgency to capture urban mobility share from incumbents and reduce deployment costs.
- Seventh-generation Robotaxis operate via Mowasalat’s Karwa app across Doha’s Old Town, CBD, tourist routes and airport connections, with Pony.ai planning over 4,000 overseas Robotaxi deployments.
- Targeting local taxi and mobility operators like Mowasalat and global partners such as Uber, execution risks include higher tech demands for perception and remote supervision, regulatory scaling and reliance on partner operations.
Pony.ai has launched a fully driverless Robotaxi experience in Doha in partnership with Qatar’s national transportation company Mowasalat, the company said Sept. 9.
The experience was opened to the public from Sept. 7 to 9 during the second Autonomous e-Mobility Forum (AEMOB).
This represents another step in the companies’ efforts to move autonomous driving toward commercial operations.
Pony.ai and Mowasalat began their partnership in August 2025, when they launched public-road testing in Doha.
The program progressed from road testing to commercial operations in about four months.
Pony.ai subsequently launched its first commercial fare-charging Robotaxi service in Doha through Mowasalat’s Karwa platform.
Users can currently hail a Robotaxi through the Karwa app, with service covering Doha’s Old Town, central business district, major tourist attractions and routes connecting to Hamad International Airport.
The Doha program is also Pony.ai’s first overseas autonomous-driving project to reach scaled commercial deployment.
Qatar’s Ministry of Transport said in July that the project had delivered satisfactory results in passenger satisfaction and safety performance, providing a basis for further expansion.
The vehicles used for the latest passenger experience are Pony.ai’s seventh-generation Robotaxis.
Compared with earlier operations that relied on an onboard safety operator, fully driverless deployment places greater demands on vehicle perception, decision-making, remote supervision and the broader operating system.
The Doha rollout also reflects Pony.ai’s broader overseas expansion.
The company now has operations spanning nine countries across the Middle East, Asia and Europe, with public passenger services in markets including Croatia, Singapore and Qatar.
Pony.ai has also been expanding partnerships with overseas mobility platforms, including Uber, and plans to deploy more than 4,000 Robotaxis overseas.
Unlike a model in which an automaker builds and operates the entire Robotaxi fleet independently, Pony.ai has increasingly relied on partnerships with local transportation and mobility companies in overseas markets.
Mowasalat operates one of Qatar’s largest networks of taxis, buses and corporate transport vehicles.
Meanhile, Pony.ai provides autonomous-driving technology and Mowasalat contributes local transportation and operating resources.
Mowasalat was already responsible for the country’s largest transportation fleet when the two companies began public-road testing in Doha in 2025.
For Robotaxi operators, the partnership model can reduce the cost and complexity of building local fleets, distribution channels and operating infrastructure from scratch.
It also allows autonomous-driving technology providers to leverage established transportation networks in overseas markets.
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