Qianli Technology Targets 8M Autonomous Vehicles by 2028

On April 22, Qianli Technology held an AI strategy and product launch event where chairman Yin Qi and co-chairman Zhao Ming unveiled an ambitious goal to achieve 8 million vehicles equipped with autonomous driving systems by 2028, according to the company announcement. The event detailed the technology roadmap and business logic behind the “AI+Vehicle” strategy, positioning autonomous vehicles as a critical application of AI technology.

Scale Targets and Timeline

Zhao Ming announced Qianli Technology’s phased deployment targets: 1 million to 1.3 million vehicles equipped with ASD (autonomous driving system) by the end of 2026, scaling to 8 million vehicles by 2028. These figures represent the company’s commitment to mass-market autonomous driving adoption.

Technology Roadmap: The “Tesla Route”

When asked about the technical approach, Yin Qi emphasized that L4 autonomous driving faces too many edge-case problems to be solved through sensor-based expert systems alone. He stated that the Tesla-style route—based on AI foundation models and data flywheel—is not “a better choice” but “the only choice.” According to Yin Qi, this technical judgment will become “very obvious” in the next one to two years of industry development.

Yin Qi clarified that L2, L3, and L4 represent a continuous technical lineage, with L2 mass-production systems ultimately serving L4 development. The company’s commitment to the Tesla route stems from two factors: the underlying capabilities of AI foundation models and the massive data flywheel built with strategic customers. He noted that if the company successfully delivers over 1 million units this year, it may become one of the largest companies globally in terms of data flywheel scale.

Regarding commercialization timelines, Yin Qi provided specific forecasts: 2026 will be the breakthrough year for L3 deployment, while 2027 may be the explosion year for L4 autonomous systems.

Vehicles as Embodied AI Carriers

Addressing industry discussion of “physical AI,” Yin Qi stated that vehicles, particularly L4-level Robotaxi systems, represent “the only embodied AI carrier” that the general public will interact with daily over the next three years. He emphasized that AI as an industry has no absolute divisions—all applications are ultimately driven by foundation large models.

Comenting on recent executive departures from autonomous driving to embodied robotics fields, Yin Qi expressed confidence in the autonomous vehicle sector: “At the critical moment when autonomous driving must deliver results, during this exciting period for L2, L3, and L4, why are people moving to the next trend? Does this suggest lack of confidence in the final outcome? Qianli is very confident, and we hope to deliver excellent products, customer value, and a complete commercial ecosystem in this sector.”

Commercial Closure and Business Model

As chairman of both Jieyu Xingchen and Qianli Technology, Yin Qi addressed the challenge of achieving commercial viability amid foundation model computational costs reaching billions of yuan or more. He stated that competition among AI companies has escalated, making commercial closure essential.

Yin Qi predicted that foundation model companies will remain the main players in the AI sector, with no new major foundation model companies likely to emerge. He emphasized that finding a sustainable commercial pathway and application scenario within existing players is critical—and precisely where the partnership between Jieyu Xingchen and Qianli Technology creates advantage.

According to Yin Qi, Jieyu Xingchen as a foundation model company is the “protagonist” of the AI battlefield, but without application scenarios, foundation model companies cannot create commercial outlets or build data moats. “Only with applications does the model have a target,” he noted. Intelligent systems’ capabilities must be built through end-user applications. Qianli Technology, as the “AI+Vehicle” vehicle, provides the optimal deployment scenario for Jieyu Xingchen’s models, while strong foundation model capabilities provide Qianli Technology’s autonomous driving system with a core AI brain. This deep binding of “model + application” solves the commercialization challenge for foundation model companies while building technological moats for Qianli Technology.

Yin Qi, describing himself as a veteran of AI entrepreneurship, stated: “As someone seeking China’s path to AI commercial closure, I believe Jieyu Xingchen and Qianli Technology represent one of the best solutions I can envision.”

Ecosystem Collaboration

Beyond technology and business model, Qianli Technology demonstrated its industrial chain collaboration capabilities. In a roundtable discussion, Yin Qi joined Jieyu Xingchen CEO Jiang Daxin, Aixin Yuanzhi founder and chairman Qiu Xiaoshen, and Tianshu Zhizhi chairman and CEO Gai Lujiang to discuss “chain-based collaboration.”

Yin Qi stressed that in the AI era, individual company capabilities are limited. Qianli Technology, Jieyu Xingchen, Aixin Yuanzhi, and Tianshu Zhizhi are not simple buyer-seller relationships but a deeply collaborative ecosystem community. “If one company builds chips, models, and applications all together, it might only be a relatively mediocre quarter of the whole. But when each enterprise focuses on its ecological niche and ultimately forms chain-based deep collaboration, it can create the best products in the new AI era,” he explained.

Regarding vehicle commercial models, Yin Qi noted the progression from connectivity to intelligence to sharing. Like smartphones—a low-margin business—vehicles will ultimately not be profitable on hardware alone; the real revenue comes from value-added services, advertising, and traffic. This means vehicles will develop new business models in the future.

Yin Qi emphasized that with proper industrial chain coordination, the priority is delivering the best experience to end consumers. As a core supplier, Qianli Technology must excel in autonomous driving and intelligent cabin systems. Since the intelligent cabin is personalized and interaction-focused, vehicles will be the fastest-evolving consumer product, and vehicles are “the necessary path to embodied AI.”

During the roundtable, Yin Qi quoted Steve Jobs: when a high technology truly matures, it disappears. The final return is to end-user peace of mind, comfort, and convenience.

Market Response

At the time of publication, Qianli Technology (stock code 601777) shares surged 6.18%, closing at 10.99 yuan per share.