Asian Tech Press (Nov 17) -- Self-driving tech company Pony.ai, backed by Toyota Motor Corp, reportedly denied plans to make electric vehicles, and is focusing on the design of self-driving systems.

Pony.ai's plans to build passenger electric cars are now stalled, and its team of a dozen people in Shanghai's Jiading District will face adjustments, Chinese media outlet 36Kr reported Wednesday.

A person familiar with the matter said that some members of the team have already left to join other emerging EV companies.

Pony.ai responded, "The news is not true, and there is no such thing as 'a team of more than ten people building cars.' In addition, as a growing company, the staff structure optimization and reasonable allocation is only normal."

Sources close to the matter said that the company's Jiading office landed late last year and has nearly 200 employees so far, and the operation of road testing of self-driving cars and self-driving mobility service Robotaxi is being ramped up.

The company also said, "The relevant design team will focus on the design work of the autonomous driving system, not the design of the complete car."

In June this year, it was reported that Pony.ai was considering a US IPO. However, due to the tightening of China's regulation of companies going public in the US, it has temporarily shelved this IPO plan.