Recently, 10 mainstream autonomous driving companies in China that have already been listed have successively released their half-year reports for 2025. The reports show that only 2 companies made a profit, while 8 reported losses.
According to a report from the official Weibo account “Next Generation Vehicle Research Institute” under Sina Finance on September 15, since December 2023, more than 10 autonomous driving and related solution companies in China have been listed one after another. Among them, nearly 7 companies completed their listing in 2024, 2 completed or relisted this year, and one completed listing at the end of 2023. However, in terms of performance, only 2 companies managed to turn losses into profits, while the remaining 8 continue to incur losses.
A founder of an autonomous driving company stated: “If at this point companies still heavily rely on financing for technology development and exploring roads, it may no longer be feasible.”
80% of the listed autonomous driving companies are operating at a loss, and even the companies that have not yet gone public are struggling.
Recently, Zhong Zhi Xing Technology Co., Ltd. faced bankruptcy liquidation due to its inability to pay off a debt of 15,000 RMB. Public data shows that Zhong Zhi Xing Technology Co., Ltd., founded by Wang Jin, known as the “pioneer of autonomous driving,” in 2018, is an L4 level autonomous driving company based in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.
Moreover, since January 2025, besides Zhong Zhi Xing, other companies in the autonomous driving industry have faced bankruptcy liquidation, including Qing Yan Microvision, a star company affiliated with Tsinghua University. Two companies are currently undergoing bankruptcy reorganization, namely Zong Mu Technologies with total financing exceeding 3 billion RMB, and Ji Yue Automobile, a high-end intelligent driving star company jointly invested by Baidu and Geely with total financing exceeding 9.6 billion RMB. Additionally, several autonomous driving companies have experienced drastic personnel changes and have been caught up in acquisition and integration controversies.
The bankruptcy of Zhong Zhi Xing Technology Co., Ltd. reflects the fact that in the context of declining investment in the autonomous driving industry and intensifying differentiation among companies, an increasing number of enterprises are facing the difficult situation of bankruptcy or acquisition.
A common characteristic shared by these companies facing bankruptcy or reorganization is that they are facing financial difficulties due to insufficient funding, shareholders being unwilling to further invest, and the companies having inadequate self-sustaining capabilities. Ultimately, they are forced to either declare bankruptcy or go through acquisition and reorganization processes.
A senior executive at a leading autonomous driving company, Li Xin (pseudonym), believes that the development of the autonomous driving industry in China has reached a turning point, and industry differentiation is now inevitable.