天若有情

在太原举办的斯诺克中国公开赛32强赛中，“魔术师”肖恩·墨菲6-0狂扫马特·塞尔特，墨菲打破了罗尼·奥沙利文保持多年的单场连续得分纪录。         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.
。这位世锦赛亚军接连打出61分、132分、103分、139分、113分单杆，一路轰出5比0大比分领先，全程未让塞尔特拿到一分。第六局由墨菲率先上手得分，但他没能一杆清台，塞尔特终于拿下本场个人首分。

二 | 第五局墨菲进攻行云流水，一红一黑不断入袋，现场观众发出惊呼赞叹，可惜第15颗黑球停在袋口没进，与147满分杆失之交臂。至此墨菲的连续无对手得分定格在607分，一举刷新“火箭”奥沙利文此前创下的纪录。2014年大师赛上，奥沙利文对阵里奇·沃顿曾连续轰下556分、对手一分未得，这项纪录尘封了12年之久。墨菲拿下第六局、以6比0横扫塞尔特，复刻了2014年奥沙利文在亚历山德拉宫6比0大胜沃顿的场面。根据英国《地铁报》的说法：“客观来说，中国举办赛事的台呢、球袋条件相比英国本土赛事更容易打出高分，球袋袋口更宽松，选手更容易连续上分。但所有参赛选手面对的都是同款球台，抛开场地条件不谈，墨菲本场发挥依旧堪称惊艳。”这位“魔术师”晋级16强后，下一轮对手是肖国栋；中国选手肖国栋在首轮比赛中6比3击败安东尼·麦克吉尔。43岁的墨菲似乎已经走出5月克鲁斯堡世锦赛决赛决胜局不敌吴宜泽的失意阴霾。今年世锦赛上，这位英格兰老将发挥十分出色，但最终以17比18惜败于22岁的中国新星，与个人第二座世锦赛冠军擦肩而过。

三 | 本赛季二人再度交手，墨菲上海大师赛5-6再负吴宜泽。

四 | 墨菲早年的绰号是“稳定先生”，打法均衡，极少波动；后来“魔术师”绰号深入人心，母球控制登峰造极，擅长多库绕球、极限薄球、刁钻翻袋，看似无解的局面总能打出意想不到的解球与进攻，观感如同魔术变戏法。

五 | 另外，与吴宜泽这种依赖准度的准神不同，墨菲衔接能力出色，战术思路灵活，创造力十足，经常有观众预判不到的构思。