{
  "id": 2091673,
  "title": "Hesai rides on lidar growth as smart cars gain ground despite China’s struggling market",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/hesai-rides-on-lidar-growth-as-smart-cars-gain-ground-despite-chinas-2091673",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-20T07:00:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SCMP Business",
    "slug": "scmp-business",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/business/china-evs/article/3364636/hesai-rides-lidar-growth-smart-cars-gain-ground-despite-chinas-struggling-market"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hesai Group, the world's leading manufacturer of lidar sensors, anticipates sustained growth for its technology despite China's struggling automotive market. Andrew Fan, Hesai's chief financial officer, reported that lidar sensor orders exceeded the same period last year, as more car manufacturers integrate these systems into their vehicles to enhance intelligence and mapping capabilities. The Chinese market saw a 27% increase in lidar-equipped cars in the first quarter of 2026, with 12% of new vehicles priced between 150,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan featuring lidars. Hesai's net income rose 60% to 70.6 million yuan in the three months leading up to June. The company recently unveiled its 6D full-color lidar platform, capable of detecting an object's 3D position, reflectivity, velocity, and color. Hesai also plans to launch a handheld device called \"Kosmo,\" a physical AI eye for capturing and recording 3D spaces, starting in the third quarter of 2026. Moreover, a recent US court ruling ordered the reversal of a previous decision that deemed Hesai a military company, ensuring the firm's continued focus on civilian lidar technology development.",
  "summary": "Chinese carmakers’ reinforced push to produce more smart vehicles could sustain growth for hi-tech component suppliers, even as the broader automotive market remains lacklustre, according to Hesai Group chief financial officer Andrew Fan. “Orders for our lidar sensors [this year] were higher than in the same period last year,” Fan told the South China Morning Post on Wednesday. “An increasing…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "SCMP Tech",
        "title": "Hesai rides on lidar growth as smart cars gain ground despite China’s struggling market",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/hesai-rides-on-lidar-growth-as-smart-cars-gain-ground-despite-chinas",
        "published": "2026-08-20T07:00:14.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}