China’s Hesai Technology has announced the production of its 1,000,000th LiDAR (light detection and ranging) unit in 2025, claiming it is the first LiDAR company worldwide to exceed one million units in annual production. This, it says, underscores Hesai's capability to deliver large-scale, high-quality LiDAR at unprecedented speed.

"The 2025 vision we had set is now within reach, and it is a proud moment for us," said Hesai's Co-Founder and CEO, David Li. "The AI era empowers us to dream big and provides the foundation to realize those dreams. We will continue to make lidar the 'eye' of intelligent vehicles and robots, advancing toward our goal of elevating human lives."

With rapid growth of demand in ADAS and robotics applications, Hesai says it currently holds three No. 1 positions in the automotive LiDAR market worldwide: No. 1 in overall automotive LiDAR market share, No. 1 in ADAS LiDAR market share, and No. 1 in Level 4 autonomous driving LiDAR market share.

Last month, Hesai said it has secured a $40m LiDAR supply deal with a US robotaxi firm.

Hesai has also secured an order from Motional, an American autonomous driving firm backed by Hyundai Motor.

Hesai was appointed as the sole provider of short-range LiDARs for Motional’s all-electric Ioniq 5 robotaxi.

In ADAS, Hesai says its LiDAR has become a standard safety feature with over 120 vehicle models across 24 OEMs scheduled for production between 2025 and 2027. Key partners for Hesai include 'a top European OEM, a leading global automaker in NEV sales, Li Auto, Xiaomi, Changan, Geely, Great Wall Motor, Chery, Zeekr, Leapmotor, SAIC Audi, SAIC-GM, a Toyota joint venture, among other top automakers'.