The Zhitong Finance App learned that Hualong Securities released a research report saying that on October 26, Xiaopeng Motor announced that it has recently been approved as a demonstration operation qualification for intelligent connected vehicle applications in Guangzhou, and can launch L4 Robotaxi demonstration operations throughout Guangzhou. The industry has ushered in a policy dividend period. Leading players have successfully passed the bicycle profit model, focusing on automakers, engineers, and core supply chain links with self-research capabilities, and maintaining the industry's “recommended” rating.
The main views of Hualong Securities are as follows:
Robotaxi commercialization has moved from a pilot to a law-based dividend redemption window
On August 25, 2026, the “Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China (Revision Draft)” was submitted for review. For the first time, a special section on “Special Provisions for Autonomous Vehicles” was added to clarify the division of responsibilities under autonomous driving functions. On July 30, 2026, the mandatory national standard “Safety Requirements for Autonomous Driving Systems for Intelligent Connected Vehicles” was approved. It is the first mandatory national standard for L3 and L4 autonomous driving in China, and is scheduled to be implemented in July 2027. As of the first half of 2026, China has issued more than 20,000 test licenses for intelligent connected vehicles, opened 57,000 kilometers of test roads, and exceeded 220 million kilometers; as of July 2026, 26 cities in China have been approved for commercial toll free operation of Robotaxi without safety personnel. With the implementation of the above regulations & mandatory standards, Robotaxi's legal boundaries of responsibility have been clarified, and operators have clearly measured the economy of bicycles on the road, providing institutional guarantees and underpinnings for large-scale road trips.
The commercial data of leading players continues to climb
Robotaxi has moved from technical demonstration to actual order stage, leading domestic players will accelerate fleet expansion & order acquisition in 2026. Passenger fare revenue for 2026Q2 Little Pony Zhixing Robotaxi was +849.3% year-on-year. As of 2026H1, the Robotaxi fleet reached 1975 vehicles and is expected to reach 3,500 vehicles by the end of 2026, a further increase from the 3,000 cars at the beginning of the year. By the end of July 2026, Wenyuan Zhixing's global Robotaxi fleet reached 1,800 vehicles. In 2026Q2, the number of domestic Robotaxi orders completed peaked at 28 orders in a single day, and taxi revenue was +140% month-on-month. My Little Pony Zhixing and Wenyuan Zhixing both have examples of bicycle profit correction. My Little Pony Zhixing achieved bicycle profit correction in Guangzhou and Shenzhen in November 2025 and February 2026, respectively; Wenyuan Zhixing passed the bicycle profit model in Abu Dhabi in 2025. Robotaxi competition has gone beyond focusing on the availability of algorithm capabilities to operational dimensions such as vehicle utilization, scheduling efficiency, service costs, and fleet management.
Focus on the three main lines of the vehicle platform+technicians+advanced smart driving supply chain
First, focus on automakers with the Robotaxi platform and full-stack self-development capabilities, which are expected to open up additional revenue space for technology licensing, software services, and ecological cooperation outside of the vehicle business. Second, L4 Robotaxi technicians such as Little Pony Zhixing and Wenyuan Zhixing are expected to use excellent model capabilities, accumulated vehicle data, and rich operating experience to promote fleet size expansion and further advance fleet-level and enterprise-level profit models. Again, focus on the core links of the high-end smart driving & autonomous driving supply chain. As of September 2026, the total mass production of the Horizon Journey series smart driving chips has exceeded 15 million sets, and has cooperated with over 40 car brands to target nearly 500 models. With the launch of the L3/L4 national standard, suppliers of core components such as smart driving chips, lidars, domain controllers, and wire-controlled chassis are expected to see a sharp rise in volume and price.
Risk warning: risk of macroeconomic fluctuations; risk of policy changes; geopolitical risk; progress in autonomous driving technology falls short of expectations; Robotaxi fleet expansion falls short of expectations; risk of increased competition; risk of errors in third-party data; risk of Hong Kong stock liquidity; focus on the company's performance falling short of expectations.