On December 26, Financial Associated Press reported (Reporter Xu Hao) that from Tesla launching the first humanoid robot prototype Optimus to this year's AI concept continuously being hot, humanoid robots as the interface between AI and the physical world have become another cross-domain fusion symbol for the main manufacturers after flying cars.

On December 25, Li Xiang from Li Auto responded to whether they will develop humanoid robots by stating that the probability is definitely 100%, but the timing is not now. 'If we can't even solve L4 level autonomous driving cars, how can we tackle more complex application scenarios? Cars are the simplest robots, if cars cannot be realized, other AI robots will also be very limited.'

Although Li Xiang believes that the timing for Li Auto to enter the humanoid robot field is not yet mature, key players in the industry that touch on AI technology through intelligent driving have gradually entered the field. Aside from Tesla, Chinese brands including BYD, Guangzhou Automobile Group, Chery Automobile, Xiaomi, Chongqing Sokon Industry Group Stock, Xiaopeng Motors, SAIC Group, Chongqing Changan Automobile, and Dongfeng Automobile have all been involved in the humanoid robot field.

According to Zhang Yongwei, vice chairman and secretary-general of the China Electric Vehicle Hundred Talent Association, 'An interesting trend has emerged in the automotive industry in the era of AI—'on the road' refers to smart automobiles, 'flying up' refers to flying cars and low-altitude industries, and 'standing up' refers to humanoid robots and embodied intelligence.' The smart automobile industry is further evolving into a converged intelligent industry.

It is widely believed in the industry that the technologies in autonomous driving, Sensors, Machine Vision, and AI related to auto manufacturers have many commonalities with humanoid robot development, and there is significant overlap in the supply chain. Additionally, automobile factories are important application scenarios for humanoid robots, creating a commercial closed-loop in research and development, manufacturing, and application, which can spill over to more application scenarios and accelerate the commercialization of humanoid robots.

At this stage, auto manufacturers are mainly laying out the robot track through self-research, cooperative development, and investment in startup companies. In terms of self-research, on December 8, the second-generation embodied intelligent robot independently developed by Guangzhou Automobile Group was unveiled. 'Since beginning the research and development of embodied intelligent robots, Guangzhou Automobile Group has focused on relying on the mature Industry Chain of intelligent connected new energy vehicles, sharing the development costs using vehicle-end chips, Lidar, and other components, and customizing development according to automotive-grade standards to ensure high-end quality while enhancing performance,' said Liu Jujiang, director of the Advanced Technology Department of Guangzhou Automobile Research Institute.

Xiaopeng Motors is also conducting independent research and development. In early November, Xiaopeng Motors unveiled its newly developed AI humanoid robot—Iron—in Guangzhou. According to reports, the Iron robot has been put into practical training at Xiaopeng Motors' factory in Guangzhou and mainly participates in the production process of the P7+ model.

Chery Automobile is a representative of collaborative development. In April of this year, Chery Automobile partnered with AI company Aimoga to co-develop the humanoid robot Mornine, entering the humanoid robot market. Mornine is a humanoid robot equipped with advanced AI that can accurately understand human language interaction intentions and translate them into specific action strategies and language output. Unlike many Auto Manufacturers who primarily apply robots on production lines to improve efficiency, Chery has set a brand new role for Mornine—store shopping guide.

SAIC Group has entered the humanoid robot sector through investments in robotics companies. In March of this year, SAIC Venture Capital participated in the strategic financing round A3 of the humanoid robot body enterprise Zhiyuan Robotics. In addition to SAIC Venture Capital, the private equity investment institution under SAIC Financial Holdings, Shangqi Capital, and Hengxu Capital are also increasing their exploration of 'early investment, small investment, and technology investment.' Specifically, Shangqi Capital participated in the round A strategic financing of the general robotics startup LimX Dynamics in July this year, while Hengxu Capital is researching potential symbols for promotion.

As one of the earliest automakers to develop humanoid robots, Tesla's Robot Concept was first proposed in August 2021, and the prototype debuted in September the following year. In March 2023, Optimus demonstrated stable walking gait and dual-hand grasping actions for the first time; in December of the same year, Tesla released the second generation of Optimus, achieving improvements in stability, flexibility, speed, and Lightweight. As of December 10 of this year, Tesla updated the outdoor blind walking video of Optimus, enhancing its capability in complex environments, with future plans to integrate visual solutions and optimize gait.

The increasing choice of this path by Auto Manufacturers is primarily based on their recognition of the long-term economic benefits of humanoid robots. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly emphasized that the Tesla Optimus robot project will be more valuable than its automotive business and FSD, even predicting that by 2040, the number of humanoid robots might exceed that of humans. 'By 2025, Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus will reach mass production of thousands; 2026 will see large-scale production and export, with long-term demand reaching tens of billions,' Musk predicted.

According to the 'Research Report on the Humanoid Robot Industry' released at the 2024 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, by 2024, the market size of humanoid robots in China is expected to reach approximately 2.76 billion yuan; by 2029, this market size is forecasted to expand to 75 billion yuan, capturing 32.7% of the global market; by 2035, this market size is expected to further increase to 300 billion yuan.