Tracking the concept of Hong Kong stocks | Intelligent connected vehicles receive policy attention again, institutions say the timing for autonomous driving investment has arrived (with concept stocks)

Intelligent connected vehicles once again receive policy attention. On November 12, the Ministry of Transport and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the "Action Plan for Cost Reduction, Quality Improvement, and Efficiency Enhancement in Transportation Logistics." The plan proposes to accelerate the innovation and development of intelligent logistics in transportation. Accelerate the construction of smart roads, smart waterways, smart ports, smart hubs, etc., and promote the digital transformation and upgrade of transportation infrastructure. Accelerate the pilot access and passage of intelligent connected (autonomous driving) vehicles. Coordinate and strengthen the synergy of smart transportation and logistics standards. Promote the demonstration and application of autonomous driving and unmanned vehicles in key regions such as the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, etc. In addition, recently, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuanglong stated at the 2024 World Intelligent Connected Automobile Conference that China's intelligent connected automobile industry system has basically taken shape, establishing a complete industrial system covering basic chips, sensors, computing platforms, chassis control, and networked cloud control. Jin Zhuanglong introduced that more than 50 cities nationwide are conducting road tests and demonstrations of intelligent connected vehicles, with 32,000 kilometers of test roads open, about 10,000 kilometers of road intelligent transformation completed, and over 8,700 sets of roadside units installed. Next, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will enhance industrial basic capabilities, build a new industrial ecology, improve the infrastructure system, optimize the industrial development environment, and promote the high-quality and sustainable development of China's intelligent connected automobile industry. This year, the field of autonomous driving has been exceptionally hot. Robotaxi, as the broadest application field for Level 4 autonomous driving, is gradually moving from concept to reality. In the first half of the year, Baidu's RoboTaxi gained popularity online, successfully entering the public's view. In October, Tesla released the unmanned family car Robotaxi, sparking lively discussions worldwide. On October 11, Tesla held an event called "Robotaxi Day." At the conference, Tesla CEO Musk entered the venue with a Cybercab without a steering wheel, accelerator, or brake pedal. It is reported that Tesla's unmanned taxi uses a pure visual FSD solution, which is expected to be put into production as early as 2026, with an estimated operating cost of about $0.125 per kilometer and a price lower than $30,000. On October 10, Guangzhou Automobile Group announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, GAC Capital, will invest $27 million (approximately RMB 191 million) in the leading domestic autonomous driving enterprise, Xiao Ma Zhi Xing, to jointly promote the development of the Robotaxi field. On the same day, He Xiaopeng, Chairman of Xiaopeng Motors, also responded to the business progress of Robotaxi. He stated that the trend of Robotaxi technology is clear, and the end-to-end boarding in the past few months has accelerated the iteration of Xiaopeng's smart driving. Currently, the pace of Xiaopeng's Robotaxi business is accelerating, and a software experience comparable to that of top overseas Robotaxi is expected to be achieved on mass-produced vehicles in the second half of next year. On October 12, Jiyue Motors announced at the AI Intelligent Driving Sharing Conference that it will jointly create a Robotaxi with Baidu Apollo in 2026-2027 and enter the ranks of unmanned taxi operators. In addition, SAIC Motor Corporation provides Robotaxi services through its subsidiary Enjoy Travel. Geely Group had previously cooperated with Xiao Ma Zhi Xing to layout Robotaxi. Industry data shows that global Robotaxi services are expected to achieve commercialization around 2026, and China is expected to become the largest market for Robotaxi services in the world. The market size is expected to reach $200 million by 2025 and $39 billion by 2030, accounting for more than half of the global market share of Robotaxi services. Debon Securities stated that with policy support and mature technology, commercial operations are gradually landing, and it is bullish on investment opportunities related to autonomous driving and Robotaxi. The research report from Open Source Securities analysis points out that with the resonance of technology and policy, a revolution in transportation will be imminent, and Robotaxi (unmanned driving taxis) will have a broader development prospect. According to Orient's research report, Robotaxi is expected to gradually achieve commercialization and accelerate the process of vehicle intelligence. The midstream and downstream of the unmanned driving industry chain, such as automatic driving solution providers and vehicle manufacturers, are expected to benefit. Upstream companies that provide intelligent hardware and software will also benefit. Companies related to the concept of autonomous driving: Baidu Group (09888): Baidu Apollo is Baidu's autonomous driving open platform, with leading autonomous driving technology and rich testing experience, making it a leader in Level 4 autonomous driving. IMOTIONAUTOTECH (01274): IMOTIONAUTOTECH is a Chinese provider of autonomous driving solutions, focusing on autonomous driving domain controllers. The company has commercialized Level 2 to Level 2+ autonomous driving solutions (Level 2+ is not an official classification under SAE (1) standards), and is developing Level 2 to Level 4 autonomous driving solutions for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). NEXTEER (01316): The company, together with its subsidiaries (referred to as the group), mainly engages in designing and manufacturing steering and powertrain systems, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous driving (AD), and component businesses for automobile manufacturers and other automotive-related companies. CHENQI TECH (09680): The company is a leading domestic smart travel service platform and a pioneer in the commercialization of Robotaxi (autonomous driving taxis). Robotaxi services have been launched in two major first-tier cities, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.