Hesai Technology Responds to Being Removed from the U.S. Department of Defense Blacklist

On August 13, according to the British media Financial Times, Chinese lidar manufacturer Hesai Technology will be removed from the U.S. Department of Defense blacklist. In response to this news, Hesai Technology’s stock opened up 22% in the U.S. market on that day.

In response to the above news, Hesai Technology stated: ‘We have not yet received any confirmation from the U.S. Department of Defense, and we will not comment on this matter. Hesai repeatedly emphasizes that the decision of the U.S. Department of Defense to list Hesai as a ‘Chinese military-related company’ is incorrect, unfair, and lacks basis. All of the company’s lidar products are strictly limited to and only for commercial and civilian use, and Hesai has no connections with the military of any country.’

Previously, on January 31 of this year, the U.S. Department of Defense updated its list of ‘Chinese military companies’ in accordance with the statutory requirements of Section 1260H of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, adding 11 Chinese companies. The updated version includes a total of 73 Chinese enterprises listed in the so-called ‘1260H list,’ including technology companies such as Hesai Technology.

On May 13 local time, Hesai Technology officially filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense, stating that being placed on the so-called ‘1260H list’ has caused the company ‘reputational damage, a significant drop in stock price, and lost business opportunities,’ and has led to the suspension of its plan to establish a factory in the U.S. Hesai urged the court to rule that the U.S. Department of Defense remove it from the relevant list or declare the list unconstitutional.

SEE ALSO: Lidar Manufacturer Hesai Technology Decides to Sue US Department of Defense

Regarding the news of removal, the Chinese Embassy in Washington stated, ‘We welcome the U.S. side to correct its discriminatory practices and provide a fair, just, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.’

Hesai Technology was established in 2014 and is a global research and development and manufacturing company for laser radar. Originally, it focused on developing laser gas sensors and began exploring autonomous driving laser radar products in 2016. Currently, its products are widely used in passenger and commercial vehicles that support advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous vehicles, as well as various intelligent robot applications such as unmanned delivery vehicles and AGVs.

Financial reports indicate that in 2023, Hesai Technology achieved a revenue of 1.877 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 56.1%; the overall gross profit margin reached 35.2%, and for the first time, it achieved positive annual operating cash flow.

In the first quarter of 2024, it achieved revenue of 360 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 16.51%. The total delivery volume of laser radars reached 59,101 units, a year-on-year increase of 69.7%. Among them, the delivery volume of ADAS products was 52,462 units, a year-on-year increase of 86.1%. The combined gross margin of the Robotaxi business and ADAS business was 38.8%.

As of the end of the first quarter of 2024, Hesai Technology obtained mass production project confirmation for laser radars from nearly 70 vehicle models from 18 OEMs and Tier-1 customers.

Recently, Hesai Technology announced that it has reached a laser radar mass production partnership with the Chinese joint venture brands of three international OEMs: Audi, General Motors, and Ford. The new cooperative models are set to begin large-scale mass production starting in 2025.

In July of this year, Hesai Technology announced that the sixth generation Baidu Apollo unmanned vehicles will be gradually released to the market. The main lidar on the sixth generation Baidu Apollo unmanned vehicle, the Yichi 06, is exclusively supplied by Hesai, with each vehicle equipped with four ultra-high-definition long-range lidar AT128s, which have a detection range of over 200 meters. It is worth mentioning that this is the first large-scale deployment of an ADAS semi-solid-state lidar solution on Robotaxis in the country.