Singapore’s largest taxi operator is debuting its first robotaxis in China to help with “future-proofing” the industry, as rising incomes and ageing populations makes it harder for companies to find drivers.
ComfortDelGro, No. 128 on the Southeast Asia 500, will partner with Chinese autonomous vehicle startup Pony.ai to launch self-driving cars in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. The two-year pilot is starting with a small fleet of Lexus RX450 vehicles, and will expand to other models over the course of the program.
The company, which also operates bus and subway services, both in Singapore and overseas, hopes the partnership will help it prepare for coming labor shortages.
“The development of autonomous vehicle technology is crucial in future-proofing the transport industry,” ComfortDelGro’s CEO Cheng Siak Kian said in a statement. “With continuing driver shortages a global issue, we are exploring innovation solutions to ensure mobility remains accessible and efficient.”
ComfortDelGro, through its Pony.ai partnership, hopes to gain experience in managing a fleet of autonomous taxis. The company operates a global fleet of over 33,000 taxis and private hire cars worldwide, including more than 9,500 in China.
Pony.ai is allowed to operate autonomous driving mobility services in the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and is also exploring a launch in Hong Kong.
“Guangdong is China’s most populous province and gives us the opportunity to build our capabilities in autonomous vehicles in a mature ecosystem,” a ComfortDelGro spokesperson told Fortune.
Tackling a labor shortage
During an interview with Fortune last September, Cheng expressed worries about a shortage of taxi drivers due to aging populations. “Now is the time to start looking at it,” he said, as the technology becomes “reasonably robust [and] reasonably mature.” The ComfortDelGro CEO suggested that robotaxis could supplement, rather than replace, human drivers by filling gaps in coverage.
Asia has some of the world’s lowest fertility rates, particularly in countries like Singapore, Japan, South Korea and China. Working-age populations are shrinking, posing a threat to businesses and industries that rely on human labor.
In 2022, ComfortDelGro invested 30 million Singapore dollars ($22.5 million) to develop its capability to operate and maintain autonomous vehicles, and to build a tech platform to support robotaxi services.
Other companies are turning to robotaxis as a response to aging Asian populations. Honda and Nissan are partnering with Japanese taxi operators to launch self-driving taxi services, also due to a shortage of drivers.