Over the past century, global manufacturing has undergone a migration from Europe and the United States to Japan and South Korea, and then to China. The confidence behind China's robust rise in manufacturing certainly extends beyond the final assembly stage, embedded within countless mid-stream industrial chains. Take LiDAR, which plays a crucial role in both smart vehicles and robotics - on October 3rd, Hesai Group (02525, HSAI.US) announced that its one millionth LiDAR unit for the year was officially produced at the end of September. As the world's first LiDAR company to achieve annual production exceeding one million units, this milestone adds another significant chapter to Hesai Group's representation of China's advanced manufacturing industry's continued global expansion.
It comes as no surprise that Hesai Group was the first to achieve the production of its one millionth LiDAR unit, as this reflects the company's absolute leading position across production capacity, technology, and business operations within the industry.
In terms of production capacity, before reaching this new milestone, Hesai Group's cumulative deliveries in the ADAS and robotics sectors had exceeded 1.37 million units by the end of the second quarter this year. The company's planned annual production capacity for 2025 exceeds 2 million units, with expected annual deliveries ranging from 1.2 to 1.5 million units.
Notably, the foundation for Hesai Group's production capacity leadership was laid as early as 2019, when the company established its 2025 vision at an internal strategy meeting: to achieve the goal of "enabling 1% of global vehicles with three-dimensional perception capabilities" by 2025. Subsequently, focusing on this long-term objective, Hesai Group strategically strengthened its intelligent manufacturing system and implemented various measures to improve production efficiency.
Data shows that Hesai Group's self-built, highly automated LiDAR production lines employ advanced intelligent manufacturing technologies in the industry, utilizing numerous intelligent industrial robots with core process automation rates reaching 100%, enabling the production of one LiDAR unit every 20 seconds. To ensure high-quality large-scale production, Hesai Group also applies its self-developed Smart Cloud EMS central control system, controlling each production stage from the source and successfully eliminating the possibility of defective products leaving the facility.
For Hesai Group, technological leadership undoubtedly serves as the cornerstone of its global competitiveness. For instance, focusing on key areas of LiDAR technology, Hesai Group has been proactively investing in and conducting technological research on LiDAR-specific chips since 2017. In 2024, Hesai Group launched its fourth-generation chip, incorporating SPAD patented technology in the receiving module, further amplifying the company's technological advantages in the digital LiDAR field.
Moreover, Hesai Group's fourth-generation chip products integrate seven core LiDAR components, achieving comprehensive performance improvements. Following the launch of the fourth-generation chip, Hesai Group became the industry's only company to achieve full-chain self-research and successfully complete mass production of both transmitting and receiving module chips.
Leveraging its self-developed chip pathway, Hesai Group has developed a robust and diverse product portfolio, including the AT, ET, and FT series, as well as the XT, OT, and JT series, all of which have rapidly gained market recognition. Taking the JT series as an example, cumulative deliveries exceeded 100,000 units within less than five months of launch, setting a global record.
The accumulation of production capacity and technology naturally translates into business leadership. According to data from Gasgoo Automotive Research Institute, Hesai Group's LiDAR installation volume reached 416,600 units in the first seven months of this year, corresponding to a market share of 32.2%, ranking first among all publicly listed LiDAR companies.
Currently, in the ADAS field, Hesai Group's LiDAR has become a standard safety configuration for assisted driving. Statistics show that Hesai Group has secured production awards from 24 OEMs across more than 120 vehicle models, with core customers including a top European OEM, a global new energy vehicle sales champion, Li Auto, Xiaomi, and other leading automotive companies.
Particularly noteworthy is Hesai Group's continuously improving market performance. Multiple vehicle models from Xiaomi, Li Auto, Leapmotor, and other automotive companies with which the company maintains long-term strategic supplier partnerships continue to demonstrate strong sales performance, which is expected to effectively drive sustained growth in Hesai Group's LiDAR shipments. Additionally, various popular models under BYD, including the Leopard Tiger 7, have also selected Hesai Group's LiDAR products, making the company's automotive "circle of friends" increasingly vibrant.
In the robotics sector, Hesai Group has become the preferred choice for leading global Robotaxi companies, with nine of the world's top ten Robotaxi companies selecting Hesai Group as their primary LiDAR supplier. Customers include Motional, Baidu Apollo Go, Didi Autonomous Driving, Pony.ai, WeRide, and other globally leading autonomous driving companies.
Recently, Hesai Group's Robotaxi business orders have continued to materialize. On September 15th, Hesai Group announced a deepened partnership with a leading U.S. Robotaxi company, signing a LiDAR order worth over $40 million (approximately RMB 285 million). Hesai Group will serve as the exclusive supplier, providing both long-range and short-range LiDAR products, with planned delivery completion by the end of 2026.
The achievement of producing the one millionth LiDAR unit this year certainly echoes the company's "2025 vision" established years ago, marking Hesai Group's continued release of high-quality production capacity through its core capabilities. From a more macro perspective, this achievement represents not only a milestone in the company's own development but also another landmark event demonstrating China's advanced manufacturing industry's progress toward globalization, digitalization, and intelligentization, continuously achieving new breakthroughs.
Looking ahead, with the empowerment of LiDAR companies represented by Hesai Group, China's smart vehicle and robotics industries are expected to unleash more dynamic growth momentum, and the international competitiveness and influence of the entire industrial chain will undoubtedly continue to strengthen further.