Giants Drive Hard into the Intelligent Driving Market

Key Points

The intelligent driving sector is seeing a surge in activity, with Ant Group and Geely Holdings forming a strategic alliance through a new entity, Chongqing Qianli Zhijia Technology Co., Ltd., backed by ¥10.5 million RMB ($1.45 million USD) in registered capital.
The Robotaxi market is projected for massive growth, with Goldman Sachs predicting China’s market size to skyrocket from $54 million USD in 2025 to nearly $47 billion USD by 2035.
Major players like Tesla are achieving fully autonomous deliveries, while North American pioneers Waymo (1,500 vehicles, 250,000 weekly passengers) and Zoox are expanding commercial deployments.
Chinese companies are accelerating in this sector with significant funding, such as SAIC Mobility securing over ¥1.3 billion RMB ($179 million USD) and Hello Mobility raising over ¥3 billion RMB ($414 million USD) for Robotaxi operations.
The intelligent driving industry chain is booming, attracting capital and creating lucrative opportunities for suppliers, with Asia-Pacific Mechanical & Electronic securing projects worth a cumulative ¥3.68 billion RMB ($508 million USD) this year alone.

Welcome to the wild west of innovation: intelligent driving. If you’re an investor, founder, techie, or marketer, buckle up. This sector isn’t just growing; it’s exploding, reshaping industries and creating massive opportunities. We’re talking about the next frontier in AI, where the digital seamlessly merges with the physical.

The latest buzz? Ant Group and Geely, two titans of industry, are joining forces, signaling a significant leap forward in the intelligent driving landscape.

On July 2, 2025, a new player entered the ring: Chongqing Qianli Zhijia Technology Co., Ltd. (Chongqing Qianli Zhijia Keji Youxian Gongsi 重庆千里智驾科技有限公司).

This isn’t just another startup; it’s a strategically formed entity with a registered capital of ¥10.5 million RMB ($1.45 million USD).

What’s their game plan?

Manufacturing and sales of intelligent vehicle equipment
Sales of artificial intelligence hardware
Information system integration services
Software development and data processing services

But here’s the real kicker: its shareholder structure.

We’re seeing a powerful alliance, including:

Maichi Zhixing (Chongqing) Technology Co., Ltd. (Maichi Zhixing (Chongqing) Keji Youxian Gongsi 迈驰智行（重庆）科技有限公司), indirectly under the umbrella of Ant Group (Ant Group 蚂蚁集团).
Zhejiang Jirun Automobile Co., Ltd. (Zhejiang Jirun Qiche Youxian Gongsi 浙江吉润汽车有限公司), a significant entity within Geely Holding Group (Geely Konggu Jietuan 吉利控股集团).

This collaboration is a clear indicator of the enormous potential within the intelligent driving market. Tech giants, automakers, and even chip companies are rushing in, rapidly expanding the entire industry chain from core components to complete vehicle manufacturing.

Giants Drive Hard into the Intelligent Driving Market

The intelligent driving sector is buzzing with activity, and not just in China. Globally, the race for autonomy is heating up.

Robotaxi Market Size Projections (China)
Year	Projected Market Size (USD)
2025	$54 million
2035	$47 billion

Tesla’s Robotic Revolution: FSD & Robotaxi Deliveries

Take Tesla, for example. They recently completed Model Y fully autonomous deliveries using their Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology.

Imagine a new Tesla driving itself to its owner, no human intervention needed. This innovation follows closely on the heels of their Robotaxi service launch in Austin, Texas, on June 22.

The Robotaxi Gold Rush: A Multi-Billion Dollar Opportunity

Goldman Sachs (Gaosheng 高盛) is bullish on this, predicting China’s Robotaxi market size to hit $54 million USD in 2025, then skyrocket to nearly $47 billion USD by 2035. That’s a massive growth trajectory.

It’s no wonder companies worldwide are scrambling to deploy in this lucrative sector.

North American Pioneers: Waymo and Zoox

In North America, Waymo and Amazon’s (Yamasun 亚马逊) Zoox are already making waves with commercial deployments.

Waymo boasts an operational fleet of 1,500 vehicles, serving over 250,000 passengers weekly in Phoenix and San Francisco.
Zoox is aggressively producing autonomous taxis, with test fleets active in the San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, and Miami.

China’s Fast Lane: Funding & IPOs

China isn’t just keeping pace; it’s accelerating.

In May, SAIC Mobility (Shangqi Jituan旗享道出行), part of SAIC Group (Shangqi Jituan 上汽集团), secured over ¥1.3 billion RMB ($179 million USD) in Series C financing to scale its Robotaxi operations.
On June 23, Hello Mobility (Halo Chuxing 哈啰出行) officially entered the Robotaxi market, having raised over ¥3 billion RMB ($414 million USD) for its Robotaxi business. Key investors include Ant Group and CATL (Ningde Shidai 宁德时代).
On June 25, Cao Cao Mobility (Cao Cao Chuxing 曹操出行) made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Their ambition? To launch L4-level Robotaxi customized models by the end of 2026.

As a Hello Mobility representative highlighted, the next wave of AI will profoundly impact the physical world. Intelligent driving, particularly autonomous driving, is seen as a pivotal technology for achieving general physical AI.

While the industry is entering a phase of large-scale commercialization due to technological breakthroughs, significant technical challenges remain for achieving full-scenario generalization capabilities.

North American Robotaxi Company Status

Waymo:

Operational Fleet: 1,500 vehicles
Passengers Served: Over 250,000 weekly
Operating Locations: Phoenix, San Francisco

Zoox (Amazon):

Status: Aggressively producing autonomous taxis
Test Locations: San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas, Seattle, Austin, Miami

And the government is on board too. The Ministry of Commerce General Office recently announced the 2025 “Thousand Counties, Ten Thousand Towns New Energy Vehicle Consumption Season”. This initiative includes special promotions and test-driving events for intelligent connected new energy vehicles, cautiously pushing for commercial applications of advanced intelligent driving under safe, legal conditions.

Thriving Intelligent Driving Industry Chain: A Deep Dive

The ripple effect of intelligent driving extends far beyond just autonomous cars. It’s revolutionizing the entire automotive supply chain and shaking up capital markets.

Great Wall Motor’s Intelligent Vision

Great Wall Motor (Changcheng Qiche 长城汽车) is making its intentions clear. According to Wu Huixiao (Wu Huixiao 吴会肖), CTO of Great Wall Motor, intelligent development is now a “leading and differentiated competitive advantage” globally.

The evolution is rapid:

From intelligent cockpits
To intelligent driving
And now to overall vehicle intelligence.

Great Wall Motor plans major upgrades to its intelligent architecture this year and next. This isn’t just about cars; it’s about intelligence becoming the core differentiator.

IPOs and Capital Influx: The New Hot Sector

The intelligent driving sector is a magnet for capital, becoming the new darling of the IPO market.

On January 15, 2025, Ciming Technology (Saimu Keji 赛目科技) successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, marking it as the first autonomous driving company to IPO there in 2025.
On May 8, HID Auto (Xidi Zhijia 希迪智驾) resubmitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, aiming for a main board listing. They’re a leader in commercial vehicle autonomous driving, focusing on mining trucks, logistics vehicles, V2X technology, and high-performance sensing solutions.

Keep an eye out for other companies like Wuhu Atech Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd. (Wuhu Aitaike Qiche Dianzi Gufen Youxian Gongsi 芜湖埃泰克汽车电子股份有限公司) and Four-Dimensional Intelligent Connected (Nanjing) Technology Co., Ltd. (Siwei Zhilian (Nanjing) Keji Youxian Gongsi 四维智联（南京）科技股份有限公司), as they are also gearing up for Hong Kong Stock Exchange listings.

Suppliers Riding the Wave: Massive Orders & Breakthroughs

The boom in intelligent driving means a massive influx of orders for component manufacturers.

Key Supplier Project Wins (2025)
Company	Project Type	Total Sales Value (RMB)	Mass Production Start
Asia-Pacific Mechanical & Electronic	Front/Rear Brake Caliper Assemblies	¥640 million (single project)	Q1 2027
Asia-Pacific Mechanical & Electronic	Cumulative projects this year	¥3.68 billion (cumulative)	Ongoing
Changhua Group	Key Metal Structural Components	¥108 million	Q2 2026 (gradual)

On June 27, Asia-Pacific Mechanical & Electronic (Yatai Gufen 亚太股份) announced a designation from a leading domestic new energy vehicle brand. They’ll supply front and rear brake caliper assemblies for a platform.
- Project lifecycle: four years.
- Mass production: expected Q1 2027.
- Estimated total sales value: approximately ¥640 million RMB ($88.4 million USD) over its lifecycle.
- This is their sixth designated project this year, with a cumulative value of approximately ¥3.68 billion RMB ($508 million USD). That’s insane growth!
Changhua Group (Changhua Jituan 长华集团) landed a major new energy vehicle order in May. They’re supplying key metal structural components.
- Project lifecycle: four years.
- Estimated total sales value: approximately ¥108 million RMB ($14.9 million USD).
- Mass production: expected to begin gradually in Q2 2026.

The synergy between companies and technological innovation is fueling this rapid progress.

Desay SV (Desai Xiwei 德赛西威) collaborated with Chery Automobile (Qirui Qiche 奇瑞汽车) to develop a cabin-driving integrated central computing platform.
- Based on Desay SV’s ICPS01E platform.
- Features an innovative single-chip multi-domain fusion solution.
- It’s the industry’s first mass-producible cabin-driving integrated System-on-Chip (SoC) product. Big deal for core intelligent driving tech.
Desay SV also strategic partnered with Hyper (Haobo 昊铂) to accelerate the development of next-gen cabin-driving and central computing platforms, optimized for L4 high-level autonomous driving.

It’s not just these big names. Companies like Junpu Intelligent (Junpu Zhizao 均普智能) and Joyson Electronic (Junsheng Dianzi 均胜电子) are also securing orders and signing cooperation agreements, driving technological iteration and market expansion across the intelligent driving sector.

The future of mobility is intelligent, connected, and arriving faster than you think. Keep your eyes peeled for more groundbreaking developments in this incredibly dynamic sector.