City-level bicycle profitability turns positive, Pony AI's Q3 revenue increases by 72% year-on-year, gross margin rises to 18.4% | Financial report insights

Autonomous driving company Pony AI announced its third-quarter financial report, with revenue achieving a year-on-year growth of 72%, mainly due to the strong performance of its Robotaxi business. In this quarter, the company made a key progress in commercialization: its seventh-generation Robotaxi achieved single-vehicle profitability in Guangzhou, marking a phased breakthrough in its operating model.

However, while revenue is growing, the company still faces structural challenges of "increasing revenue without increasing profit." Despite a significant improvement in gross margin compared to the same period last year, the pressure on profitability has not been fundamentally alleviated.

Highlights from the financial report are as follows:

• Q3 total revenue of $25.4 million, a year-on-year increase of 72.0%, with total revenue for the third quarter reaching 1.81 billion RMB

• In the third quarter of 2025, Robotaxi service revenue was $6.7 million (47.7 million RMB), an increase of 89.5% compared to $3.5 million in the third quarter of 2024

• In the third quarter of 2025, Robotruck service revenue was $10.2 million (72.5 million RMB), an increase of 8.7% compared to $9.4 million in the third quarter of 2024

• Gross margin increased to 18.4%, up from 9.2% in the same period last year

• Operating loss of $69.7 million, net loss of $61.6 million; non-GAAP net loss of $55 million

• In the third quarter of 2025, the basic and diluted loss per share under non-GAAP was $0.14 (1.00 RMB), compared to $3.50 in the third quarter of 2024

Commercialization progress:

• The seventh-generation artificial intelligence has launched comprehensive unmanned driving commercial operations in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Beijing
• The cost of the new seventh-generation ADK, mass-produced in 2026, will decrease by another 20% compared to the 2025 benchmark
• Established a light-asset cooperation model with West Lake Group, Sunshine Travel, and others to enhance capital efficiency

In pre-market trading, Pony AI's stock price rose nearly 9.5%.

Revenue expansion fails to offset increasing losses, mobility services become key driver of gross margin

Pony AI's third-quarter financial report showcases the typical characteristics of the autonomous driving industry: "revenue growth, massive losses." In Q3, the company achieved total revenue of $25.4 million, maintaining growth momentum, with gross margin significantly increasing from 9.2% in the same period last year to 18.4%, mainly due to the rising proportion of high-margin autonomous driving mobility service revenue. The financial report shows that autonomous driving mobility service revenue was $6.7 million, a year-on-year increase of 89.5%.

In addition to the Robotaxi business, other business segments of Pony AI also achieved growth. In the third quarter of 2025, Robotruck business revenue was 72.5 million RMB, and technology licensing and application business revenue was 61 million RMB, both achieving year-on-year growth It is worth noting that the company's seventh-generation autonomous taxi deployed in Guangzhou achieved a breakthrough in "single-vehicle profitability within the urban area" in November. However, this data is based solely on the average daily value for November in the Guangzhou region and represents localized profitability under a single-vehicle model, which still shows a considerable distance from the company's overall profitability.

In terms of expenditures, the company's operating expenses surged by 76.7% year-on-year to $74.3 million. Among these, $12.7 million in research and development expenses was invested in the automated customization development of the seventh-generation system, and the company faces significant cost pressures in its commercialization efforts.

Regarding cash flow, as of the end of September, the company's cash and cash equivalents amounted to $587.7 million, a decrease of $160 million compared to the end of June. The cumulative free cash outflow for the first nine months reached $173.6 million, with funds primarily used for capital injection into the joint venture Huafeng Intelligent Technology, daily operations, and procurement of seventh-generation vehicles. The recently completed Hong Kong IPO raised approximately $800 million, providing financial support for future development.

AI Model Achieves Cost Reduction in Technology

Pony AI showcased its progress in cost reduction in technology and advancement of business models in its latest financial report. The seventh-generation autonomous taxi achieved "single-vehicle profitability within the urban area" in Guangzhou, completing an average of 23 orders per day. In terms of hardware costs, the seventh-generation ADK system is expected to enter mass production in 2026, with a target cost reduction of 20% compared to 2025 levels; the ADK cost of the fourth-generation autonomous truck has decreased by 70% compared to the previous generation.

The company attributes part of its cost reduction to the application of the "world model" PonyWorld. This system supports unsupervised closed-loop training, processing long-tail scenarios through simulation and AI autonomous learning. Currently, related R&D investments are ongoing.

In terms of operational models, the company collaborates with Xihu Group and several mobility platforms, adopting a technology licensing and vehicle sales model, with partners bearing the fleet deployment costs. In the third quarter, technology licensing and application revenue reached $8.6 million, a year-on-year increase of 354.6%, primarily driven by ADC demand in automated warehousing scenarios