北京时间7月18日凌晨，2026捷克U17女篮世界杯1/4决赛战罢，中国U17女篮以68比69惜败于劲旅加拿大女篮，遗憾地止步八强，将参加5-8名排位赛。尽管输掉了比赛，但中国姑娘们时隔10年再度杀入该项赛事八强，已经创造了近年来的最佳战绩。         Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai launched commercial robotaxi services in Zagreb, Croatia on April 8. Photo:Courtesy of Pony.ai
Chinese autonomous-driving company Pony.ai said on Monday that its cumulative autonomous-driving distance worldwide has surpassed 100 million kilometers, marking the latest milestone as China's driverless sector moves from technology validation toward mass production and scaled commercial deployment.
The milestone comes as L4 autonomous driving gains commercial traction across passenger transport and logistics in China, while Chinese companies are accelerating overseas deployment through partnerships with local operators in markets including Europe and Southeast Asia.
Industry experts said that the significance goes beyond rising distance. As commercialization gathers pace, the next phase of competition will increasingly hinge on whether autonomous-driving technology can be deployed at scale, brought down to commercially viable costs and replicated across different transport scenarios and markets.
At a recent media briefing, Pony.ai said that its fourth-generation L4 autonomous electric heavy-duty truck had entered mass production, with commercial operations expected to begin in the coming months. The company plans to deploy 500 to 1,000 trucks over the next two to three years across long-haul freight, bulk cargo transport and port logistics.
A notable part of that transition is the sharp decline in costs. Autonomous-driving hardware costs for Pony.ai's fourth-generation heavy truck are about 70 percent lower than for the previous generation, according to the company.
Similar cost reductions are also emerging in robotaxis. Pony.ai said on its official blog that the bill-of-materials cost of the autonomous-driving kit for its seventh-generation robotaxi has fallen 70 percent from the previous generation, helping the company achieve unit-economics breakeven in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province.
China's autonomous-driving sector is moving from technology validation to large-scale commercial deployment, underpinned by the rapid accumulation of real-world driving data, Pan Helin, a member of the Expert Committee for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the Global Times on Monday. 
"Continuous road testing allows L4 systems to better adapt to local traffic conditions, laying the groundwork for wider commercial use," Pan said.
China has opened multiple cities to autonomous-driving applications, with commercialization gathering pace. As deployment expands and marginal technology costs fall, autonomous driving is expected to unlock significant commercial value and emerge as a new form of mobility, veteran industry analyst Liu Dingding told the Global Times.
Pony.ai aims to expand its robotaxi fleet to more than 3,000 vehicles by the end of 2026 and operate in 20 cities worldwide, with nearly half of those cities overseas. It also plans to develop an international version of its seventh-generation robotaxi tailored to different regulatory requirements and infrastructure, supporting the deployment of more than 1,000 vehicles in overseas markets. 
Pony.ai's ambition also reflects a broader push by Chinese autonomous-driving companies to expand overseas.
On August 3, WeRide announced a partnership with Danish shared-mobility platform GreenMobility to deploy autonomous ride-hailing services in Denmark, marking its first entry into the Nordic region and sixth European market. Subject to regulatory approval, the service is expected to open to the public in the first half of 2027 using WeRide's latest GXR L4 robotaxi.
WeRide said on its website that its autonomous-driving products are now deployed in more than 40 cities across 12 countries. The company holds autonomous-driving permits in eight markets and operates a global L4 fleet of more than 3,000 vehicles.
A similar expansion is taking place in public transport. On July 17, Chinese autonomous-driving company MOGOX announced a strategic partnership with Singapore-based ComfortDelGro Bus. The two companies will cooperate on autonomous-vehicle deployment and operations, commercial expansion and coordination with regulators.
Pan said that China's autonomous-driving sector has two key advantages: a broad supplier base for major components and a large domestic market that allows companies to deploy services widely and accumulate real-world data. Advances in simulation and synthetic-data technologies have further strengthened the sector's ability to train and refine autonomous-driving systems.
Liu pointed to the cost benefits of scale. As deployment expands, the cost of key automotive-grade components such as lidar and chips continues to fall, improving the economics of commercial operations and creating more room for technological iteration, he said.
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B | 中国队在小组赛中2胜1负，以小组第二名的身份获得了参加淘汰赛的资格。1/8决赛，中国队发挥出色，以23分优势大胜拉脱维亚晋级八强，迎来了与加拿大队争夺四强名额的1/4决赛。全场比赛都在胶着的状态中进行，上半时中国队以30比29领先1分，核心球员李沅珊被对手重点盯防，孙晗昀站出来砍下10分。第三节开始后不久，当值裁判便第4次吹罚孙晗昀犯规，她只好暂时下场，中国队形势危急。

C | 本节中加拿大队反超了比分，领先9分进入到决胜节的争夺。第四节，中国女篮庞云舒内线连得4分，紧跟冯颖、李沅珊连续反击追至3分分差，随后加拿大连续冲框再度领先7分，中国女篮贾驭连续反击再度缩小至3分，加拿大三分命中领先6分，紧跟中国女篮李沅珊迅速连得5分迫近至1分分差，比赛来到最后2分钟，加拿大内线得分领先3分，随后双方持续进攻不中，比赛还剩最后半分钟，中国女篮庞云舒造犯规两罚全中，紧跟加拿大失误中国女篮孙晗昀内线得分反超1分，留给加拿大12.7秒，加拿大二次进攻内线得分反超1分，中国女篮最后1.7秒后场发球超远三分不中，最终中国女篮U17 68-69不敌加拿大女篮U17。这场比赛虽然输了球，但面对北美强队，中国U17女篮的姑娘们敢打敢拼，将胜负悬念保持到了最后一刻并且一度有机会完成逆袭，值得点赞。中国队参加U17女篮世界杯的最好战绩是在2010年，当时获得了第三名。2016年该项赛事，中国队也曾晋级四强。之后的几届U17女篮世界杯，中国队的最好战绩仅为16强，这一次打进八强是时隔10年来取得的最好战绩。