Chinese carmakers’ reinforced push to produce more smart vehicles could sustain growth for hi-tech component suppliers, even as the broader automotive market remains lacklustre, according to Hesai Group chief financial officer Andrew Fan.
“Orders for our lidar sensors [this year] were higher than in the same period last year,” Fan told the South China Morning Post on Wednesday. “An increasing percentage of new [car] models are now fitted with lidars as brands make them more intelligent.”
Hesai – the world’s largest maker of lidar sensors, which help cars map terrain – supplies products to the top 10 Chinese automotive groups amid a race to build driverless vehicles.
“It is expected that millions of new cars will be equipped with lidars,” Fan said. “The growth driver is big enough for us to pursue further expansion.”
Short for light detection and ranging, lidar sensors use lasers to measure distance to objects. Smart cars can use this data to build highly accurate maps of their surroundings.
We envision turning Hesai into a technology firm, rather than just an automotive supply chain vendorAndrew Fan, Hesai Group
In mainland China, 12 per cent of new cars priced between 150,000 yuan (US$22,300) and 200,000 yuan were fitted with lidars in 2025. The proportion climbed to 27 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed.
Overall car deliveries on the mainland, including petrol-powered and electric vehicles, plunged 21 per cent year on year in July to 1.46 million units.
Hesai reported a net income of 70.6 million yuan in the three months ending June, up 60 per cent from a year earlier. Revenue grew 21 per cent to 860.8 million yuan.
“We envision turning Hesai into a technology firm, rather than just an automotive supply chain vendor,” Fan said. “Our business scope will expand amid further technological innovation.”
In April, the Shanghai-based company unveiled its 6D full-colour platform, which could deliver lidar sensors with world-leading capabilities in ranging and small-target identification. 6D refers to the sensors’ ability to detect an object in 3D space, plus its reflectivity, velocity and colour.
The 6D sensors, powered by Hesai’s self-developed Picasso system on chip, are undergoing customer validation.
Fan also said the company would begin delivering its new Kosmo handheld device, described as a “physical AI eye” for capturing and recording spaces in 3D, during the third quarter of this year.
On Wednesday, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered a lower court to overturn a ruling that had sided with the Department of Defence, which had remanded Hesai’s lawsuit over its designation on a list of Chinese military companies.
“We are pleased that the court recognised these fundamental procedural protections,” Hesai said in a statement. “Hesai has consistently maintained that it is an independent, publicly traded company focused on developing civilian lidar technology for commercial applications.”
Last week, the appeals court also ordered a lower court to reconsider whether DJI, China’s largest drone maker, should be removed from the defence department’s list of companies that support the Chinese military.
