In recent years, with the rapid advancement of generative AI and large-scale model technologies, the humanoid robot industry has risen swiftly, emerging as a key frontier of technological innovation. At the same time, the rapid development of the AIEV (New Energy Intelligent Vehicle) industry has injected strong momentum into the humanoid robot sector. Leveraging their accumulated expertise in areas such as autonomous driving and intelligent cockpits, AIEV manufacturers are accelerating their deployment in humanoid robotics, transferring automotive intelligent technologies into robotic systems and driving the transition of humanoid robots from laboratories to commercial applications.

In 2023, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the Guiding Opinions on the Innovative Development of Humanoid Robots, which set clear goals: by 2025, to preliminarily establish an innovation system for humanoid robots, and by 2027, to make the sector a new engine for economic growth. Meanwhile, China has made remarkable progress in the field of humanoid robots. According to Morgan Stanley’s report “Humanoid Robot 100: Mapping the Value Chain”, Chinese companies account for 63% of the top 100 enterprises in the global humanoid robot industry chain. Over the past five years, China has ranked first in the world in terms of humanoid robot–related patent applications, with 5,590 filings. In 2024 alone, Chinese companies launched 53 humanoid robot models—two-thirds of the global total.

The deep involvement of the AIEV automotive industry is accelerating technological upgrades in humanoid robotics and driving faster adoption across industrial and service sectors, revealing the vast potential and promising future of humanoid robot applications.

On the eve of a humanoid robot industry boom, intelligent vehicle manufacturers are accelerating their involvement to fuel growth.On the eve of a humanoid robot industry boom, intelligent vehicle manufacturers are accelerating their involvement to fuel growth.As a core track in the global wave of manufacturing upgrades and digital economy transformation, China’s robotics industry is undergoing a critical transition from “scale expansion” to “quality enhancement.” According to research by EO Intelligence, the current industrial chain has formed a development pattern characterized by “core technology breakthroughs – leadership by top enterprises – cross-sector ecosystem collaboration.” This ecosystem spans multiple application scenarios, including industrial, service, and special-purpose robots. Leading companies such as BAIC Group, CATL, and Baidu are accelerating their strategic deployments, driving the industry toward a new stage of intelligent and high-end development.

1. Core Industry Landscape: Full-Chain Deployment from Foundational Technology to Application Implementation

The healthy development of the robotics industry relies on the synergistic linkage between “core components – system integration – application scenarios.” Currently, domestic enterprises are making continuous breakthroughs in key technical domains, while cross-industry players are entering the market, creating a diversified and competitive industrial ecosystem.

Core Technologies and Components: Accelerating Localization, Yet Key Bottlenecks Remain

The performance of robots fundamentally depends on critical “bottleneck” components such as sensors, chips, and power systems. From the supply side of the industrial chain, leading companies have already achieved technological implementation in several areas:

• Sensors: The LiDAR technologies of HESAI Technology and RoboSense are widely used in autonomous driving and industrial robots, addressing the core challenge of machine perception.
• Chips and Algorithms: Automotive-grade chips developed by Horizon Robotics and SemiDrive, combined with AI algorithms from Baidu and Tencent, provide the “brains” for intelligent robots. Meanwhile, international leaders such as NVIDIA and Qualcomm continue to dominate the high-end chip market with their advanced technologies.
• Power Systems and Structural Components: Precision motors from Jiangsu Leili and Han’s Motor, as well as power batteries from CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.) and EVE Energy, supply robots with a stable power source. Automotive manufacturers such as BAIC Group and Geely are leveraging their vehicle engineering expertise to accelerate the maturity of mobile robot chassis technologies.

System Integration: Scenario-Specific Demand Drives a Diversified Product Matrix

As application requirements become increasingly specialized, robot system products have evolved beyond traditional industrial robotic arms into diverse categories spanning service and special-purpose robots. Leading enterprises are focusing on their areas of strength to build differentiated competitive advantages across key market segments:

Industrial Robots: HIKROBOT’s warehouse robots hold a leading market share in the e-commerce and logistics sectors. TUOPU Group and Joyson Electronics provide welding and assembly robots tailored to the needs of new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturing upgrades. Leadshine Technology and Zhuji Power continue to deepen their expertise in industrial automation and flexible manufacturing, driving the integration of high-precision motion control with robotic systems.

Service Robots: UNITREE Robotics and Agi bot have introduced quadruped robots already deployed in inspection and rescue operations. Companies such as UBTECH Robotics, Leju Robotics, Fourier Intelligence, VITA Robotics, and InTime Robotics are accelerating innovation in home companionship, rehabilitation training, and educational entertainment. Meanwhile, GALBOT, ROBOTERA, Star Epoch, and Booster Robotics focus on domestic service, commercial reception, and space navigation, bringing robots closer to everyday life.

Special-Purpose Robots: KEPLER and RainXuan Intelligent have developed explosion-proof and underwater robots that tackle hazardous tasks in the oil and marine engineering industries, addressing operations that are “beyond human reach.” Deeprobotics (Yunshenchu) and Zhiyuan Robotics are also expanding the application boundaries of special-purpose robots in inspection, rescue, and military scenarios, becoming an essential supplement to high-end manufacturing and intelligent equipment.

2. Ecosystem Synergy: Cross-Industry Entrants Reshape the Competitive Landscape

The robotics industry is no longer a field of “single-point technological breakthroughs,” but a cross-disciplinary battleground driven by the convergence of technology, application scenarios, and capital. Today, companies from the automotive, internet, and energy sectors are rapidly entering the robotics arena. Through resource integration and ecosystem construction, they are building competitive barriers and driving the transition from “individual innovation” to “collaborative industrial ecosystems.”

Automotive Manufacturers: Extending from “Building Cars” to “Building Mobile Robots”

Traditional automakers such as BAIC Group, Geely Auto, and FAW-Volkswagen, along with emerging players like NIO and Li Auto, are leveraging their expertise in vehicle chassis and electronic control systems to expand into the field of mobile robotics:

• BAIC Group and Baidu have co-developed autonomous driving robots designed for campus shuttle and logistics transport scenarios. By combining BAIC’s automotive-grade chassis stability with Baidu’s autonomous driving algorithms, they have established “vehicle-grade” safety standards for mobile robots.
• Geely Auto has partnered with TUOPU Group to develop AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) systems for automotive manufacturing plants, creating a closed-loop ecosystem between production robots and vehicle manufacturing, thereby enhancing production line automation efficiency.

Internet Giants: Empowering Robot “Intelligence” through AI Algorithms

Internet enterprises such as Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance are capitalizing on their vast data resources and AI capabilities to become the algorithmic enablers of the robotics industry:

• Baidu’s Apollo autonomous driving platform provides robots with high-precision mapping and path planning capabilities. Its “Apollo Go” robotaxi service has already launched pilot operations in multiple Chinese cities.
• Alibaba has opened up its “Cainiao Robotics” technologies, offering third-party companies integrated warehouse sorting and delivery robot solutions based on its e-commerce logistics experience.
• ByteDance applies its computer vision and speech recognition technologies to enhance the facial recognition and voice interaction capabilities of service robots, significantly improving user experience.

Energy and Materials Enterprises: Strengthening the “Hardware Foundation” of Robotics

Companies such as CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.), LG Energy Solution, and KINGFA (Kingfa Sci. & Tech.) are supporting the robotics industry across the entire value chain—from upstream materials to downstream applications:

CATL provides high-rate, long-lifespan power batteries specifically designed for industrial robots, addressing the challenges of short endurance and frequent recharging.

KINGFA’s carbon fiber materials are applied in robot body structures to achieve an optimal balance between lightweight design and high mechanical strength, enabling robots to perform efficiently in complex operational environments.

3. Industry Challenges and Future Outlook: Seeking New Growth Drivers Through Breakthroughs

Although China’s robotics industry has made remarkable progress, it still faces challenges in high-end technologies, standardization, and large-scale commercialization. At the same time, these challenges also present significant opportunities for future growth.

Current Core Challenges

Dependence on Imported High-End Components: In areas such as precision reducers and high-end servo motors, domestic products still lag behind global leaders in terms of accuracy and reliability. The import rate of some core components exceeds 70%, creating supply chain vulnerabilities.

High Cost of Scenario Implementation: The unit prices of service and special-purpose robots often exceed RMB 100,000, making them unaffordable for small and medium-sized customers and thus hindering large-scale adoption.

Incomplete Standardization System: A lack of unified standards in robot safety performance, data interfaces, and ethical regulations leads to poor product interoperability across enterprises, reducing ecosystem coordination efficiency.

Three Major Development Trends

Accelerated Technological Integration: The convergence of AI large models and robotics will deepen. Future robots will be capable of self-learning and adapting to diverse environments—for example, industrial robots that automatically adjust welding parameters, or service robots that comprehend and respond to more complex human instructions.

Scenario Expansion and Cost-Driven Popularization: As costs continue to decline, robots will move from high-end manufacturing into SMEs and household applications. Affordable robots—such as home companion robots priced in the thousands of RMB and compact warehouse robots around tens of thousands—are expected to become new growth drivers.

Deepened Globalization and Overseas Expansion: Chinese robotics companies are accelerating their efforts to go global. Firms such as HIKROBOT and UNITREE have already established presences in Southeast Asia and Europe, leveraging localized R&D and localized service models to participate in global market competition

AIEV manufacturers are accelerating their entry into the humanoid robot sector, transferring automotive intelligent technologies into this emerging field and driving its rapid development. Humanoid robots share a high degree of technological similarity and commonality with AIEV intelligent systems, resulting in low barriers to technology migration. For AIEV companies, expanding into humanoid robotics serves multiple strategic purposes: broadening business scope, enhancing brand influence, and feeding back into the intelligent upgrade of automobiles.

China’s AIEV industry chain players now comprehensively cover the upstream and midstream segments of the humanoid robot supply chain. Automakers and technology companies are participating in robot design and integration through investment, partnerships, and independent R&D. Meanwhile, suppliers of automotive sensors, intelligent system solutions, components, and power batteries are actively entering upstream segments of the humanoid robotics industry, driving both technological advancement and mass production capabilities.

Data and insights from EO Intelligence（ 亿欧智库）