A few days ago, Chang Yufei, CEO of Huier Intelligent, accepted an exclusive interview with Automotive Observation, conducted an in-depth analysis of the prospects of unmanned vehicles in the "last kilometer" distribution market, and was full of confidence in the future development of Huier Intelligent.
Article Source: Automotive Watch
With the rise of online shopping, takeaway and other consumption methods, takeaway platforms such as Meituan and Ele.me, enough e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and JD.com, logistics and distribution companies such as SF, Flash Delivery, Dada and other logistics and same-city distribution companies have all stood on the cusp of the times, this change has prompted the mainland unmanned distribution industry to maintain a high-speed growth trend, and the participants in the unmanned distribution industry chain are also increasingly enriched and growing.
Research data show that the overall market size of unmanned delivery is at least between 304 billion and 509 billion yuan, of which the outdoor delivery of unmanned vehicle market space accounts for about 174 billion to 261 billion yuan. As a start-up company in the field of autonomous driving, Wheeler Intelligence is one of the players targeting the "last mile" distribution market.
"Compared with Robotaxi, we use non-passenger highway-grade unmanned cars as the entry point, which can not only land faster, but also easier to commercialize." Chang Yufei, CEO of Wheeler Intelligence, said in an interview with Automotive Watch.
Spotlight on the "last mile"
Wheeler Intelligent is not a driverless car carrying goods from the beginning, but has three years of experience in the field of Robotaxi. In terms of technology, Huier Intelligent has applied Robotaxi technology with higher performance requirements to unmanned logistics distribution vehicles, forming a dimensionality reduction advantage.
"We don't define this car as a low-speed vehicle, but as a road-class unmanned vehicle, which gives our products the ability to operate on open roads and be suitable for a wider range of cargo scenarios." Chang Yufei introduced.
Due to the needs of operating in an open environment, Huier Intelligent unmanned vehicles are equipped with lidar, which can overcome weather, humidity, lighting and other problems to ensure its safe and efficient service. At present, Huier Intelligent's unmanned vehicles have gradually begun to operate in the fields of unmanned sales, unmanned distribution, and security patrols in scenic spots.
"It can be seen that our use scenarios are not imagined in the office, but proposed by customers, and we can meet the needs by adapting accordingly, which makes our products have a good market foundation." Chang Yufei said.
In Chang Yufei's view, there are three main types of application scenarios for unmanned driving, robotaxi, unmanned trucks on high-speed main roads and unmanned distribution of "last kilometer", each of which has a very large market space, which is enough to support tens of billions of enterprises. In contrast, Robotaxi's cake is the largest, but it is easier to land in the latter two scenes.
"Compared with Robotaxi, unmanned commercial vehicles have no need to carry people, it is easier to meet the technical requirements of comfort and safety, and it is easier to achieve commercial landing at the level of regulations and policies." We've been doing robotaxi solutions for a long time, but it's far longer than people think it will be commercialized and profitable. We realized that in order to survive, we must find a more suitable scenario for the technology to land, so we chose to take the lead in the market of unmanned commercial vehicles, and then gradually move towards the ultimate goal of Robotaxi. Chang Yufei introduced.
Master the method of "stir-frying"
Although it holds the core technology of unmanned commercial vehicles, Huier Intelligent does not intend to work on its own, but chooses to play the role of a technology provider that operates enterprises. In this regard, Chang Yufei explained: "Because whether it is takeaway or express delivery or other industries, in fact, customers are much more experienced in the operation of these scenarios, we just help them create a driverless car that can meet their needs." ”
Chang Yufei frankly said that in the initial stage, unmanned vehicles are a new thing for customers, they are also willing to spend money to try, the sensitivity to costs is not so high, but really to the moment of large-scale landing, you have to consider the cost of the problem, unmanned vehicles only to be more economical than labor has prospects. In such a cargo unmanned car body, the automation suite including lidar, computing platform, etc. accounts for more than two-thirds of the cost of the vehicle, and only by reducing the cost of this part can it be more attractive to customers.
In terms of cost control, Huier Intelligent has obtained more advantageous prices in core components by cooperating with companies such as Ouster LiDAR. At the same time, it feeds back these companies through the data accumulated in the process of operation. After the formation of the cooperation bond, Huier Intelligent can not only have a more advantage over competitors in hardware costs, but also form a positive iteration in performance and progress with partners. "Thanks to this initiative, the gross profit margin of our unmanned car can reach more than 50%, which is not only ahead of competitors, but also far beyond the imagination of investors." Chang Yufei said.
As mega-macs such as Meituan, JD.com, and SF continue to intervene in the field of unmanned distribution, many people are worried that there will be a winner-take-all situation, but Chang Yufei does not think so: "In specific segments, we are more accurate than them in product design and technical direction, it is difficult for large companies to spend too much energy on small things, they are aiming at a larger market." Although the cake is placed here, not all companies are willing to cut you this piece. ”
Today, Through three years of accumulation, Wheeler Intelligent has mastered the complete development chain of autonomous driving: from multi-sensor pre-fusion to fusion positioning, high-precision mapping and full-stack development capabilities for vehicle chassis control. Chang Yufei's ultimate goal is to build Huier Intelligent into a Tesla in an unmanned commercial car, mastering the full-stack technology from core hardware to software.
Of course, to achieve this goal is not easy, in the long road of exploration of unmanned driving, we must continue to strengthen their core competitiveness, in order to survive in the fierce competition.
"Some people may ask, our chips are purchased, our lidar is purchased, what is our core competitiveness? A family's chip, B's radar, C's combination navigation, D's battery pack, how to fuse these things together, fry a pot of good dishes, this method of stir-frying itself is the core competitiveness. Chang Yufei looked forward, "Next, on the one hand, we must make the hardware more solidified and reduce costs; on the other hand, we must continuously optimize the software, improve product performance, and win the recognition of the market through two-pronged approach." ”
Editing/Forging Ahead Business Cooperation: [email protected]