BEIJING, March 26 (Reuters) - Pony.ai expects

to more than double the fleet of robotaxis powered by its

technology to over 3,000 units across more than 20 cities

globally this year, the Guangzhou-based firm said on Thursday as

it announced its first-ever quarterly profit.

Nearly half of the 20 cities, including Croatia's capital

Zagreb, where the company is planning to launch Europe's first

commercial robotaxi service, will be in overseas markets.

Pony.ai, which debuted its international commercial

operations in Doha, Qatar, joins other Chinese autonomous

driving companies, including WeRide ( WRD ) and Baidu's ( BIDU )

Apollo Go, in expanding abroad as China cements its

position as a leader in global autonomous driving technology.

Croatian startup Verne will manage the fleet and operations.

The service will integrate into Uber's ( UBER ) ride-hailing

platform.

"This partnership creates a more efficient and scalable path

to international expansion, with the potential for Pony.ai to

share in recurring revenue streams generated through local

commercial service," said James Peng, Pony.ai's co-founder and

CEO.

The company has conducted on-road testing in regions such as

the Middle East, Singapore, and South Korea.

Pony.ai, which achieved single-unit profitability in the

Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, posted a

fourth-quarter net profit of $75.5 million, marking its first

profitable quarter. The firm attributed the results primarily to

increased fair value of trading securities.

Fare-charging revenue grew over six times year-on-year in

the fourth quarter, driven by fleet expansion and higher user

adoption rates. The company reported a total fleet size of 1,446

cars as of Wednesday, compared to fewer than 300 vehicles a year

earlier.