Chinese automotive lidar startup Robosense said on Thursday its net loss narrowed by 65.2% to RMB 268 million ($37.3 million) for the first half of this year, while revenue more than doubled year-on-year to RMB 727 million thanks to surging demand. The improved results came as a result of strong sales and reduced costs. The Chinese maker of lidar sensors for self-driving cars delivered roughly 243,400 units of its products to a dozen of auto majors including BYD, SAIC, and Geely over the period, which nearly reached its total for last year of 256,000 units. The Shenzhen-headquartered company, which also makes laser sensors for robots and other equipment, achieved a positive margin of 11.2% for its automotive grade lidar products, up from -35.5% a year ago, generating an overall gross margin of 13.6%.
Chief executive Qiu Chunchao expects the firm to break even for the full year in 2026 mainly on the rising adoption of Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Qiu said delivery of its affordable MX laser sensor is set to begin to clients such as SAIC’s IM Motors and Xpeng Motors in the first half of next year. The component, with 200 meters (656 feet) of range at a competitive price tag of roughly $200, targets Chinese mainstream vehicle models below the price tag of RMB 200,000, a segment that has a single-digit penetration rate for assisted driving tech in 2023. That’s according to a survey compiled by China’s Gaogong Industry Institute. [TechNode reporting, Robosense filing, in Chinese]
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