Coffee & Cars Episode 24 Recap | Pony.ai

Research evidence excerpt

Coffee & Cars Episode 24 Recap | Pony.ai

Equity Research

Flash Comment — June 4, 2026

Autos and Auto Parts

Expert Opinion: Scale Up in the Right Markets Is Best

Approach

Our Call Colin M. Langan, CFA, CPA

Ep 24 recap of Coffee & Cars w/ Pony.ai IR, Bella Ke. The company is focused in on "scale- Equity Analyst | Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

Colin.Langan@wellsfargo.com | 212-214-8228

up" in current footprint (mainland China, 84M population) w/ plans to expand into Europe

Kosta Tasoulis& Mid-East. She also emphasized teleops "guide" rather than "control".

Equity Analyst | Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

Kosta.Tasoulis@wellsfargo.com | 212-214-5337

Initial Thoughts

Ramp up Strategy

Bella Ke (Pony IR) reiterated recent guide of fleet expansion to 3.5K units (>1.7K

currently) in >20 cities worldwide by YE. This strategy is primarily focused on scaling up

current footprint in mainland China, where the population is ~84M. IR indicated already at

break-even margins in Guangzhou & Shenzhen, with variable profitability in other China

footprint, with the only barrier to outright profitably being "scale up" the fleet. 2026E

expansion also targets EU & Middle East.

Not All Teleops is the Same

Pony flagged 3 metrics to compare robotaxis: 1) driverless w/o safety driver; 2) size of

fleet, & 3) miles/accident. Ke said relying on safety drivers indicates an immature robotaxi

biz. Safety needs to be >3x better than human drivers. Given its safety record, Pony's

insurance is 33-50% lower than human drivers. On teleops, she distinguished remote-

"control" & "assist". Pony teleops is "assist", only approving actions, while some peers take

"control" which is risky.

Economics of Pony AV; No Vision-Only

Ke said the cost of a Pony AV is now ~270K RMB (~$40K), while still leveraging a multi-