Self-driving car startup Pony.ai is forming a partnership with SAIC AI Lab, a research facility of the namesake automaker, to jointly develop robocars and look for potential opportunities for commercial operations. Over time, the two companies will build a fleet of fully driverless Marvel-R electric crossovers integrated with Pony.ai’s technology. On Sept. 22, Pony.ai also unveiled plans to launch a commercial autonomous ride-hailing service on Geely’s mobility platform Cao Cao in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou later this year. China has so far allowed testing operations of highly autonomous vehicles for public transport in restricted areas in Beijing and Shanghai, among a dozen or so other major cities. [Pony.ai statement]