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Two prominent Chinese manufacturers of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors have reported significant increases in robot product sales last year, with the segment increasingly replacing advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) as the primary growth driver.
Sales of LiDAR sensors used in robotic applications by one company soared by 1,142 percent, reaching 303,000 units over the 12 months ending December 31, compared to the previous year. While ADAS-related products still made up the majority of sales, with 609,000 units, they only saw a 17 percent year-over-year increase.
Revenue generated from robot LiDARs jumped 258 percent to 710 million yuan (approximately $103 million), whereas sales from ADAS products increased by 17 percent to 1.1 billion yuan (about $159 million). The Shenzhen-based firm reported an annual net loss exceeding 145 million yuan.
However, the company posted a quarterly profit of 104 million yuan ($15 million) in the fourth quarter, marking its first profit for a quarter. Robot LiDAR shipments skyrocketed by 2,565 percent, totaling 221,200 units from the prior year, with the robotics segment contributing over half of the company’s revenue for the first time.
The company’s CEO projected that robot LiDAR sales could quadruple this year, reaching between 800,000 and 1 million units.
The other company revealed that sales of LiDARs for ADAS purposes increased by 203 percent, reaching 1.38 million units for the past year. Meanwhile, sales related to robotics grew even faster, surging 426 percent to 239,000 units, according to its annual report.
Plans are underway to increase annual production capacity to over four million units this year to accommodate growing demand. The majority of LiDAR orders are for already mass-produced robots, rather than humanoid robots. For instance, one company recently received an order for 10 million units of LiDAR sensors intended for robot lawn mowers.
Industry experts predict that embodied intelligence will emerge as a crucial new market for LiDAR manufacturers. Although the market size is currently modest, its strategic importance is significant. One CEO noted that while lower body mobility in robots is well-established, upper body manipulation capabilities are ushering in a new industrial revolution. The robotics industry remains in a period of investment, and components used in embodied intelligence could surpass LiDAR sensors in importance within three to five years.
In the financial markets, the local stock of the first company closed with a 1.9 percent gain at HKD 32.78 (about $4.19) after peaking up 8.4 percent during the session. Conversely, the other company’s stock decreased by 1.9 percent to USD 19.85 per share in New York trading yesterday.
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