China’s electric vehicle (EV) makers could introduce a lidar sensor-based intelligent driving system in models priced as low as 60,000 yuan (US$8,795) this year, reflecting intensifying competition and falling costs, according to AI-driven tech firm Robosense.
This price point is the lowest for models on sale in China’s market, excluding mini vehicles sold for less than 50,000 yuan, indicating fierce competition among Chinese carmakers amid the phasing out of policy incentives.
Notably, light detection and ranging (lidar) systems were historically reserved for high-end models or premium trims, as they are a cornerstone of advanced automotive safety due to their ability to provide precise road data during extreme conditions, such as heavy fog. This exclusivity was largely driven by the high manufacturing costs of components.
However, the landscape has shifted dramatically due to rapid technological advancements and the efficiencies of large-scale production.
The average selling price (ASP) of automotive lidar sensors – which sat at around US$80,000 in 2016 – plummeted to US$200 by 2025. This transition has also seen a shift in global leadership, with Chinese manufacturers overtaking US firms as the dominant market players.
By comparison, the lidar units used by companies in the United States range from US$1,000 to US$75,000.
Manufacturers are increasingly integrating lidar into budget-friendly models amid an aggressive price war in the Chinese EV sector. While these systems were seen in vehicles priced between 100,000 and 200,000 yuan in 2025, the floor has continued to drop.
This was evidenced in March 2026, when Leapmotor launched a new model equipped with the technology priced at just 86,800 yuan.
Current trends suggest the threshold is set to drop further to the 60,000 yuan mark, as a wave of Chinese EV makers are expected to soon announce the adoption of a lidar sensor solution as a standard feature for all models of some series, said Mark Qiu Chunchao, CEO of RoboSense.
Qiu predicted that RoboSense’s latest self-developed Phoenix chipset – which allows the lidar sensors to detect items as far as 600 meters (1,970 feet) away – could be used in 60,000-yuan EVs within two years. He did not reveal the product’s selling price.
“To be honest, I don’t really care whether ASP is going to plummet; I just care about how big this pie can get,” Qiu told the South China Morning Post.
He believed that scaling up sales could offset the decline in gross profit margins and that technological upgrades would result in lower costs.
Inexpensive EVs are growing more popular in mainland China. Last year, models priced below 80,000 yuan recorded a sales volume of 1.53 million units and those priced between 80,000 yuan and 100,000 yuan logged 1.49 million units, up by 51.8 per cent and 78.4 per cent year-on-year, respectively.
However, growth across all price bands also rose by 28.2 per cent, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed.
Competition among Chinese lidar makers is intensifying, with all three industry leaders – Huawei Technologies, Hesai Group and RoboSense – unveiling breakthrough hardware within a seven-week window.
Over a span of four days, both Hesai and RoboSense announced they would launch their colour-capable lidar sensor, which makes the component work more like a camera while carrying more data.
