Recently, data from Qichacha showed that Shanghai Topology Sensor Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Baolong Technology (603197), was officially established with a registered capital of 100 million yuan. The legal representative is Zhou Liangjie, and its business scope covers electronic component manufacturing, integrated circuit design, wholesale and retail, etc.
Industry background: Sensors - the "nerve endings" of smart cars
Driven by the "new four modernizations" of automobiles (electrification, intelligence, networking, and sharing), sensors, as core components for vehicles to perceive the environment and their own status, have become the main battlefield for technological competition. According to the forecast of the Prospective Industry Research Institute, the scale of China's automotive sensor market will reach 98.2 billion yuan in 2026, among which the demand for environmental perception sensors (such as cameras and millimeter-wave radars) and body perception sensors (such as pressure and position sensors) will grow significantly.
Baolong Technology's layout is aimed at this trend. At present, the global automotive sensor market is still dominated by foreign companies such as Bosch and Continental, but under the wave of domestic substitution, local companies are accelerating their rise through technological breakthroughs and industrial chain integration. By establishing Topology Sensor Company, Baolong Technology not only improved its sensor product matrix, but also attempted to build a closed loop of technology in emerging fields such as intelligent driving and air suspension.
Baolong Technology's Intelligent Strategy Map
1. Deep synergy between sensors and intelligent driving
Baolong Technology has previously formed six categories and more than 40 products in the field of sensors, including pressure, optical, acceleration and other sensors. The newly established Topology Company will focus on the electronic components and integrated circuit design required for automotive intelligence, which will complement Baolong's existing business. For example, its technical accumulation in binocular/tri-eye stereo vision systems (such as sub-micron precision control and automated calibration process) has been mass-produced and applied to the road pre-aiming system and obstacle detection of autonomous driving, significantly improving the safety of intelligent driving.
2. Integrated layout of air suspension and sensors
Baolong Technology has ranked among the first echelon in the field of air suspension in China, and its core components such as air springs, ECUs and sensors have been independently developed. The establishment of Topology will further strengthen the coordination between sensors and suspension systems. For example, through the combination of height sensors and stereo vision technology, the dynamic adjustment of suspension and the road preview function can be deeply linked. This "hardware + algorithm" integration capability gives it an advantage in the matching of high-end models such as Huawei Zhijie S7.
3. Domestic substitution and global expansion
In recent years, Baolong Technology has gradually broken the monopoly of foreign technology through mergers and acquisitions and self-research. For example, its wheel speed sensors and light and rain sensors have taken a leading position in the domestic market, and plans to achieve a global layout through its Hungarian production base. The establishment of Topology will further promote the localization process of high-value-added sensors (such as motor position sensors and current sensors) and reduce the supply chain costs of automakers.
Technological breakthrough: from sub-micron precision to AI fusion
Baolong Technology's core competitiveness in the field of sensors is reflected in two aspects:
Precision manufacturing capabilities: For example, the binocular camera needs to control the optical axis deviation to the sub-micron level at extreme temperatures of -40℃ to 95℃, and realize dynamic correction through self-learning algorithms. The technical difficulty is far higher than the industry average.
AI algorithm fusion: The disparity point cloud output by its binocular vision system is combined with AI technology to efficiently identify obstacles and lane lines, and even realize "general obstacle detection (GOD)" on a small computing power platform, with a cost reduction of more than 50% compared with traditional solutions.
Market impact and industry outlook
1. Accelerate the process of domestic substitution
Baolong Technology's sensor business has covered leading car companies such as BYD, Weilai, and Ideal, and is deeply bound with Huawei's smart car business. The establishment of Topology will strengthen its autonomy in upstream links such as integrated circuit design and reduce its dependence on overseas chips.
2. Promote the sinking of intelligent driving technology
Through cost-effective sensor solutions (such as thousand-yuan binocular ADAS all-in-one machines), Baolong Technology is expected to promote the penetration of intelligent driving functions into models below 200,000 yuan, helping "smart driving equality".
3. Industrial chain synergy effect
Baolong Technology's top three global positions in TPMS, air suspension, metal pipes and other fields provide its sensor business with customer synergy and scale cost advantages. For example, the air suspension system requires a large number of sensors, and the establishment of Topology can further reduce the procurement cost of core components and improve the overall profit margin.
Conclusion
The establishment of Topology Sensor Company by Baolong Technology is not only a key step in its intelligent transformation in the "123 Mid-term Strategy", but also a microcosm of domestic substitution in China's automotive industry chain. Driven by intelligence and electrification, local companies are turning from "followers" to "leaders", and technological autonomy and vertical integration of the industrial chain will become the core proposition of future competition. With the release of Topology's production capacity and technological iteration, Baolong Technology may become an important participant in the global automotive sensor market, injecting new momentum into the rise of China's smart car industry.
This paper is from Ulink Media, Shenzhen, China, the organizer of IOTE EXPO (IoT Expo in China)
