World’s largest maker of LiDAR sensors, Hesai sees increasing demand in the smart vehicle segment even as the larger automotive market in China remains lacklustre.
The chief financial officer of China’s Hesai Group, world’s largest manufacturer of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor, Andrew Fan said that the growth for hi-tech components is going to sustain as Chinese carmakers push to manufacture more smart vehicles even as the larger automotive market remains sluggish.
“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 percentage of new [car] models are now fitted with lidars as brands make them more intelligent.”
LiDAR sensors use lasers to measure distance from objects and map the terrain for smart cars. “It is expected that millions of new cars will be equipped with lidars,” Fan said. “The growth driver is big enough for us to pursue further expansion,” he added.
In China, 12 percent of new cars between 150,000 yuan ($22,300) to 200,000 ($29,700) yuan were fitted with LiDAR sensors in 2025. Despite car deliveries including both petrol and electric vehicles dropping 21 percent year-on-year in July, Hesai reported a revenue growth of 21 percent year-on-year.
In April, the company unveiled its 6D-full colour platform. 6D refers to sensors’ ability to detect an object in 3D-space plus its velocity, reflectivity and colour.
Hesai aims to transform into a technology firm, rather than just an automotive supply chain vendor. The 6D sensors, powered by Hesai’s self-developed Picasso system on chip, are undergoing customer validation.
On Wednesday, Hesai also won a big victory in the US court of appeals in D.C., which ordered a lower court to overturn a ruling that sided with the US Department of Defence, which had designated Hesai on a list of Chinese military companies.
Hesai, in a statement said that it has consistently maintained that it is an independent, publicly traded company focused on developing civilian LiDAR technology for commercial applications.
