China’s self-driving push gains ground in Europe as Momenta, Pony.ai expand

Deutsche Bank raises its price target for Momenta while Pony.ai widens partnership with Uber to accelerate autonomous-vehicle roll-out in European cities

China’s autonomous-driving ambitions are winning growing recognition in Europe, with Deutsche Bank raising its target price for Momenta following a key regulatory breakthrough, and Pony.ai expanding its European robotaxi roll-out alongside Uber Technologies.

In a research note released on Monday, Deutsche Bank analyst Bin Wang saw Momenta as the “No 1 independent autonomous-driving solution provider globally”, particularly in the urban “navigation on autopilot” (NOA) segment.

“Momenta’s market share in the urban NOA segment is 64.5 per cent,” the analyst said. “It collaborates with nine of the top 10 global automakers and has strategic shareholders including Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and GM.”

The German investment bank has initiated its coverage of the Chinese firm, which raised about HK$5.9 billion (US$752 million) in an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong a month ago. It set a target price of HK$400 per share, compared with Friday’s closing price of HK$268.40, with a “Buy” rating.

The recognition came as Momenta secured approval to conduct nationwide urban-road testing of Level 4 autonomous-driving systems in Germany last month. Level 4, or “high automation”, is the second-highest level of vehicle automation and is the standard used in commercial robotaxi services. Level 5 would represent “full automation”.

Meanwhile, Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai, backed by Baidu, announced last week a major expansion of its strategic partnership with Uber. Under the plan, Pony.ai will provide Level 4 autonomous-driving technology and operational experience, with more than 2,000 robotaxis to be deployed across five European cities.