Haitong International's research report notes that Horizon Robotics (09660.HK) recently announced, together with ZF Group, the joint development of an SAE Level 3 intelligent driving system tailored for the Chinese market. ZF will provide its ProAI platform and system-level architecture design, taking charge of the hardware platform, vehicle integration, and safety verification, while Horizon will supply the Journey 6P chip (J6P, computing power >1,000 TOPS) and a complete software algorithm stack. This system has already secured designated projects from leading Chinese automakers and is expected to enter mass production by 2026.
The report highlights that ZF, as a globally leading supplier of chassis and actuation systems, has long maintained deep expertise in critical domains such as steering, braking, and suspension. This collaboration integrates traditional chassis control advantages with intelligent decision-making capabilities, significantly enhancing the execution consistency and safety redundancy of the vehicle’s intelligent driving system. Haitong International believes this architecture represents a crucial step in transitioning high-level autonomous driving algorithms into mass production, validating Horizon’s ability to adapt and coordinate system-level applications.
Haitong International states that the partnership with ZF positions Horizon as the first Chinese intelligent driving chip company to secure core projects from two global Tier-1 suppliers, Bosch and ZF, reinforcing the commercial viability of its L3 products and expanding its global market potential. Haitong International forecasts revenues of RMB 3.477 billion, RMB 5.907 billion, and RMB 8.890 billion for fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027 respectively, representing year-over-year growth rates of 67.5%, 61.8%, and 57.9%.
Considering industry valuation levels and factoring in the company’s growth prospects and industry standing, Haitong International assigns Horizon Robotics a 2026 price-to-sales ratio of 28x, corresponding to a target price of HKD 12.5 (previous target price HKD 12.3, reflecting a 2026 P/S ratio of 26x, revised upward by 2%). The firm maintains its 'Outperform' rating.
