CITIC Construction Investment: Based on the inflection point of the smart driving industry, the sub-sectors of the industry chain such as robotaxi, smart driving chips, and LiDAR are expected to benefit fully.

CITIC Securities pointed out that 2026 is a key watershed for the transition of China's intelligent driving from "functional competition" to "institutionalized commercialization". In 2024-2025, the intelligent driving industry mainly focuses on the rapid penetration of L2+ advanced driver assistance, the sinking of NOA capabilities, and the competition for equal rights in intelligent driving among whole vehicle manufacturers. By 2026, the industry coordinates have clearly switched to three main lines in parallel: L2 enters a period of strong supervision, the industry shifts from "competing on experience" to "competing on rules, safety, and systems"; L3 moves from pilot to limited commercialization, with responsibility boundaries, admission mechanisms, and standard systems beginning to take shape; L4/Robotaxi enters the stage of large-scale verification under resonance between China and the United States, and the commercial judgment criteria shift from "can it run" to "can it be replicated at low cost, and can it operate a single vehicle economic model successfully". Based on the turning point of the intelligent driving industry, the segmented tracks of the industry chain such as robotaxi, intelligent driving chips, and LiDAR are expected to benefit significantly.