April 8 (Reuters) - Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi

Global said its self-driving unit's joint venture with

EV maker GAC Aion has received a license to mass produce

electric robotaxis in the country, and that it plans to sell the

cars from next year.

Andi, the joint venture between DiDi Autonomous Driving and

GAC Aion, will roll out a crossover electric sports utility

vehicle (SUV) as its inaugural model and will produce the first

batch in 2025, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

"The joint venture has positioned us as a pioneer in the

autonomous driving industry, enabling us to lead the creation of

an early L4 commercial route and the world's initial closed-loop

business model for L4 development that encompasses technology,

smart manufacturing and operations," said Zhang Xiong, deputy

general manager of GAC Aion.

The company did not specify which authority issued the

license.

The Andi joint venture was set up last year, when it also

got funding of about $149 million from two investors affiliated

with the municipal government of Guangzhou.

Tesla will unveil its robotaxi in August, CEO Elon Musk said

last week after Reuters reported the EV maker dropped plans to

make an inexpensive car and instead would develop self-driving

robotaxis on the same small-vehicle platform.