Horizon Robotics Targets 10 Million Smart-Driving Systems in Mass-Market Push
Chinese autonomous driving chipmaker Horizon Robotics has set an ambitious goal to deploy 10 million units of its advanced driver-assistance system, aiming to bring high-end intelligent driving features to China's mass-market vehicles and create an affordable alternative to premium offerings.
The 3-to-5-year target for its Horizon SuperDrive (HSD) system was announced by founder and CEO Yu Kai at the Chengdu Auto Show. This strategic pivot underscores the company's ambition to popularize advanced autonomous driving, a feature historically limited to high-priced cars, for a broader base of Chinese consumers.
The announcement follows a significant operational milestone for the company. Earlier in August, Horizon Robotics disclosed it had surpassed 10 million cumulative shipments of its Journey series computing solutions, a first for a domestic supplier in China’s intelligent driving sector and a clear signal of its accelerating expansion.
This mass-market strategy positions Horizon to capitalize on the growing demand for vehicle intelligence in the world's largest auto market, placing it in direct competition with rivals like Huawei. The move is backed by strong financial performance, with the company’s first-half revenue for 2025 growing 67.6% year-on-year, bolstering investor confidence.
Accelerating Shipments and Soaring Revenue
Horizon Robotics reported a total revenue of RMB 1.567 billion yuan (US$216 million) for the first half of 2025, a significant increase from RMB 935 million yuan during the same period in 2024. The company's gross margin stood at a healthy 65.4%, with cash reserves of RMB 16.1 billion yuan, indicating a solid financial footing for its expansion plans. After the results were announced, the company's Hong Kong-listed stock saw a rally of over 14%.
Growth was driven by a surge in product shipments, which reached 1.98 million units in the first half of the year, double the 960,000 units shipped in the first half of 2024. Critically, shipments of its mid-to-high-tier solutions, which support Navigate on Autopilot (NOA) functions for both highways and urban areas, grew six-fold to 980,000 units, accounting for nearly half of total shipments. The company has secured design wins for over 400 vehicle models with more than 40 automotive brands, up from 310 models in April.
Software-Hardware Co-Design as Core Strategy
Central to Horizon's strategy is a software-hardware co-design philosophy, which it believes is the most effective way to optimize performance while controlling costs. "Current automotive computing performance has not yet met user needs, and the vehicle operating system needs deep software-hardware synergy with the chip," CEO Yu Kai stated. This approach mirrors the vertical integration strategy that enabled Tesla to enhance efficiency with its self-developed HW3.0 computing platform.
By tightly integrating its software with proprietary hardware, Horizon aims to deliver superior computing efficiency without relying solely on more powerful and expensive chips, a practice that ultimately raises vehicle prices for consumers. The company's new Journey 6P chip, with 560 TOPS of computing power, is designed to efficiently run the large models required for advanced driving functions. Horizon claims its architecture can achieve superior performance with less raw computing power than competing solutions, thereby lowering overall system costs.
Targeting the Mass Market for Scale
Horizon's push for "intelligent driving for all" aligns with a broader industry trend in China. While high-end ADAS was once exclusive to premium vehicles priced above RMB 300,000, competitors are now introducing these features in more affordable cars. The XPeng MONA M03 Max and HIMA’s Shangjie H5, for example, offer advanced city navigation functions at prices starting below RMB 170,000.
Data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) highlights a significant market opportunity. In the first half of 2025, the penetration rate of L2 and higher ADAS in new energy vehicles reached 82.6%. However, a large gap remains between the premium segment (40.7% penetration for cars over RMB 400,000) and the mainstream market (13.2% for cars priced between RMB 160,000 and RMB 240,000). By securing partnerships for high-volume models, Horizon aims to close this gap, leverage economies of scale to reduce costs, and accelerate adoption.
Newest Products Pave the Way for HSD
The company's latest products are already laying the groundwork for its mass-market ambitions. The Exeed ET5, set for launch in November, will be the first vehicle to feature the complete HSD system powered by the Journey 6P chip. This system enables both city and highway pilot-assist driving and is designed to handle complex urban scenarios.
Horizon's strategy involves embedding its technology in top-selling vehicles. Its Journey 6M chip has already launched in the BYD Qin L EV, a sales leader in the RMB 100,000-150,000 segment, while its Journey 6E is featured in a popular family SUV from GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. Meanwhile, its entry-level Journey 6B chip is being co-developed with Robert Bosch GmbH for a new camera platform slated for mass production in mid-2026, targeting global automakers and further broadening Horizon's market reach.