Zhongjin Securities recently released a research report stating that the long-term development of the Robotaxi industry depends on the formation of a positive cycle of technology, commercialization, and policy. In a positive cycle, the UE level of Robotaxi gradually improves, companies are willing to put more vehicles on the market, and the expansion of fleet size can continue to amortize early R&D costs, improve corporate profitability, and promote the industry towards healthy and sustainable development. However, before the formation of a positive cycle, Robotaxi companies may suffer losses for a period of time. The team believes that financial strength, closed data loops, integration of hardware and software, and technological innovation are the key competitive factors for Robotaxi companies at present.

What special requirements does Robotaxi have for its technology stack? How mature is the current technology? The core of the Robotaxi model is to complete driving automatically without minimal human intervention, with requirements not only consistent with the city NOA's pursuit of strong generalization ability and highly human-like intelligent driving models, but also with safety and redundancy. Currently, Robotaxi has shown significant technological progress, but there is still room for improvement. China International Capital Corporation believes that artificial intelligence frontiers such as Transformer, end-to-end, multimodal, and world models may have a useful place in accelerating the upgrade of intelligent driving capabilities.

How is the unit economics (UE) model of Robotaxi calculated, and how is future improvement possible? As a passenger transport service, Robotaxi mainly charges by the mile driven; in terms of cost, Robotaxi companies need to bear the costs of vehicle depreciation, safety personnel costs, electricity charges, parking fees, and insurance, among which income, depreciation, and safety personnel costs are the three important factors that affect the Robotaxi UE model. The Robotaxi business model is diversified, with heavy and light asset forms. However, in the early stages, its UE model is usually in a loss state. Future improvements will require continuous attention to changes in technology, policies, and fleet size, among other factors.

From the perspective of policy and enterprise, where is Robotaxi's landing progress? Chinese Robotaxi is gradually entering a transition from R&D testing to commercial deployment. National and local policies have helped the industry to develop healthily, and relevant policies and regulations overseas are also constantly advancing. From the perspective of the enterprise, top Robotaxi companies in China and the United States are continuously expanding their commercial layouts; currently, their volume is relatively limited, and they are in the stage of road testing to commercial operation.

How do you view the investment logic of Robotaxi? The long-term development of the Robotaxi industry depends on the formation of a positive cycle of technology, commercialization, and policy. In a positive cycle, the UE level of Robotaxi gradually improves, companies are willing to put more vehicles on the market, and the expansion of fleet size can continue to amortize early R&D costs, improve corporate profitability, and promote the industry towards healthy and sustainable development. However, before the formation of a positive cycle, Robotaxi companies may suffer losses for a period of time. China International Capital Corporation believes that financial strength, closed data loops, integration of hardware and software, and technological innovation are the key competitive factors for Robotaxi companies at present.

Risk

The process of technological exploration is slow; commercialization is obstructed; industry competition is intensifying; and policy progress is not as expected.