Multiple sources have confirmed that the autonomous driving company “Hoverin” under Great Wall Motors Holdings came to a standstill this Monday (November 24). China’s intelligent driving companies have been experiencing severe losses, with several autonomous driving companies such as Zhongzhi Xing and Zongmu Technology closing down this year.
According to a report by Sina Technology on November 23, insider sources revealed that Hoverin abruptly informed its employees, numbering over 200, that they do not need to report to work starting from November 24 (Monday), with compensation details yet to be announced.
Currently, Hoverin has around 200 employees. There is no specific information within the company regarding what adjustments will occur after the shutdown. It is unclear whether the company will completely dissolve or temporarily halt operations, and the resumption date remains unknown.
Insiders also disclosed that following the company’s operational crisis, speculations arose internally that the major shareholder Great Wall Motors might take over Hoverin. However, Great Wall Motors has not yet presented a definitive intention.
Online information circulating indicates that multiple Hoverin employees confirmed that on the afternoon of November 22 around 5 p.m., an internal notice was issued in the Hoverin work group announcing a “work stoppage and vacation notice,” instructing all employees not to report to work starting from the 24th, and the resumption date will be notified separately.
The direct reason behind Hoverin’s halt, as reported by New Yellow River, is attributed to the major shareholder abandoning its strategic direction due to falling behind in technology roadmap.
Hoverin has long been focusing on the “high-precision map + rule-based algorithm.” Since 2023, the autonomous driving industry has shifted towards “heavy perception, light mapping” and “end-to-end large models.” Hoverin’s dependence on high-precision maps hindered its progress in urban Navigation on Demand (NOD) scenarios and faced challenges in generalizing complex road conditions.
Moreover, the company’s small car business had substantially ceased operations earlier, with executive turnover ongoing from June this year until now. Despite the months of unrest, the company never officially announced any changes, but delayed salary payments and business shutdowns have left employees feeling uneasy. Several resigned employees confirmed that as early as June this year, Hoverin’s Shenzhen R&D company had effectively entered a state of shutdown.
Reportedly, as of now, Hoverin’s Beijing headquarters has only 128 employees left, including the Baoding branch, totaling 281 employees. Two years ago, Hoverin had over 1500 employees.
Established in November 2019, Hoverin, formerly the Intelligent Driving Foresight Department of Great Wall Motors, was China’s first enterprise to achieve mass production of autonomous driving technology. Its business scope encompassed passenger car intelligent assisted driving, last-mile logistics automatic delivery vehicles, and intelligent hardware.
According to Tianyancha data, Hoverin’s controlling shareholder is Great Wall Motors Chairman Wei Jianjun (holding approximately 37%), and the company currently remains in operation without new abnormal business records, with the latest financing dating back to December 2024. It had received seven rounds of financing from companies like Meituan, Hillhouse Capital Group, and Shougang Fund, with a peak valuation exceeding $1 billion.
In early 2023, Hoverin claimed to have achieved several firsts in the industry, such as China’s first intelligent algorithm center, China’s first self-developed AEB algorithm implemented domestically and overseas, and being the top in mass-produced autonomous driving in China. However, reports from Fast Technology revealed that on Monday (November 24) evening, Hoverin’s Beijing headquarters had been vacated.
China’s intelligent driving companies have been experiencing significant losses, with several companies in the field ceasing operations this year. Analysis of the 2025 interim reports of 10 mainstream publicly listed autonomous driving enterprises in China shows that only two were profitable, while eight were running at a deficit. A search by journalists found that intelligent driving enterprises facing “closure/liquidation” or “actual shutdown” included the following:
In September 2025, Zhongzhi Xing Technology Co., Ltd. went bankrupt due to an inability to repay debts amounting to 15,000 yuan, leading to its substantive shutdown.
On July 31, 2025, at the Wujiang Court in Suzhou, the once high-profile autonomous driving technology company, Suzhou Clear Insight Micro Vision Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., with accolades like “Tsinghua Key Incubation” and “Suzhou Unicorn Cultivation Enterprise,” began bankruptcy liquidation proceedings.
In April 2025, Zongmu Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was placed under bankruptcy review by the Pudong Court in Shanghai, and it has entered judicial reorganization following significant salary arrears and social security payment suspensions.
In August 2024, TuSimple Future ceased autonomous driving research and announced entry into the gaming sector. TuSimple Future went public on Nasdaq in April 2021 as the “global autonomous driving industry leader” but delisted from the US stock market in January 2024.
Huawei Intelligent Automotive Business Unit CEO Jin Yuzhi publicly disclosed in May 2025 that many companies formerly engaged in autonomous driving had been closing down continuously, either switching to the robotics sector or diversifying their business.
On July 23 of this year, the renowned Chinese automotive media “Auto Master” launched the program “Auto Intelligent Refinery,” conducting practical tests on the advanced driving systems of 36 mainstream new energy vehicles.
The results indicated that Tesla Model 3 and Model X achieved nearly 90% pass rates, becoming the only “winners.” Conversely, domestic brands such as Huawei Seres, Xiaomi SU7, and BYD Han showed poor performance, even failing in all aspects, raising public concerns about the safety of Chinese automakers’ intelligent driving systems and exposing underlying issues within the industry such as technological deficiencies, false advertising, and regulatory oversight shortcomings.