"4D Map Innovator's New Product: Second Spring Hope"

On October 11, 2024, the 4D Map User Conference was held in Guangzhou, where the company unveiled the "NI In Car Series" intelligent driving product matrix ranging from entry-level to mid-to-high-end, as well as the AC8025AE cockpit and parking integrated chip. At the conference, 4D Map's strategic partner, Qingzhou Zhihang, also made an appearance.

Starting with map navigation, 4D Map went public on the SME board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2010, with a market value exceeding 70 billion yuan at its peak. Since then, with the impact of giants such as Gaode and Baidu, the company's traditional business has faced challenges, and around 2015, the company began a strategic transformation, with continuous increased investment.

In recent years, 4D Map's R&D expenses have accounted for more than 50% of its operating income for most years, which has also put significant pressure on the company's performance. In 2018, the company's net profit recorded its first loss since going public, and in 2023, the loss exceeded 1.4 billion yuan.

In response to questions from reporters at China Fund about when the R&D investment and performance inflection point would arrive, 4D Map CEO Cheng Peng believes that 2023 is the inflection point. He is confident that the company's revenue growth will accelerate, and the proportion of R&D expenses will relatively decrease.

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"NI In Car Series" Intelligent Driving Product Matrix Launched

Cheng Peng stated that after more than two decades of deep cultivation in the map industry, 4D Map has accumulated a wealth of technical reserves to meet the challenges of lightweight high-precision maps. These "initial accumulations" have become an important capital for 4D Map to help car companies win in the future, with maps transforming from functional components of intelligent driving solutions to safety components.

Currently, 4D Map's total shipment of intelligent driving products exceeds 1 million units, with more than 2 million units designated and mass-produced, providing intelligent driving solutions for 7 car companies.

At the user conference, Cheng Peng, combining his analysis and thoughts on the trend of cockpit and driving integration, focused on launching the "NI In Car Series" intelligent driving product matrix from entry-level to mid-to-high-end, with the first introduction of the parking integrated mid-computing power intelligent driving solution based on Horizon's Journey® 6E/M.

The parking integrated mid-computing power intelligent driving solution based on the Journey® 6E/M chip, equipped with the 7V3R12U optimal sensor configuration, ensures the accuracy of data capture and the efficiency and smoothness of the processing process. The ingenious use of data and calculation fusion technology has greatly improved system efficiency. The full-scenario coverage of high-speed navigation assistance NOP, as well as the intelligent upgrade of memory driving and memory parking, all reflect the excellent ability of this solution in improving driving convenience and safety.

Cheng Peng stated that the solution also constructs a data-driven intelligent driving closed-loop system. By using technical means such as data compliance, crowd-sourced updates, and continuous iteration, it continuously improves the driving experience and meets users' personalized needs.Strategic partner of Siwei Tuxin, Qingchuan Zhihang, also made its debut. Based on Siwei Tuxin's lightweight map HD Lite, combined with Qingchuan Zhihang's mid-to-high-level full-stack software algorithms, the two parties jointly launched a leading urban NOA intelligent driving solution and showcased road test videos in multiple complex scenarios in Beijing and Guangzhou.

In addition, Siwei Tuxin's integrated solution for the cabin and parking market targeting the 100,000 yuan vehicle segment, as well as the integrated cabin and parking solution based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon SA8155 platform, were also released at the user conference.

The CEO said that 2023 is the "inflection point"

As a leading company in the field of Chinese maps, Siwei Tuxin once dominated the in-car navigation market. However, with the entry of technology giants such as Gaode and Baidu, free mobile navigation has had a significant impact on Siwei Tuxin's traditional in-car navigation business. Under the trend of automotive intelligence, it actively undergoes business transformation in order to occupy a place in the huge potential of the intelligent connected vehicle market.

The beginning of Siwei Tuxin's transformation can be traced back to 2015. In this year, Siwei Tuxin established the Intelligent Map Business Department and the Autonomous Driving R&D Department, marking the company's transformation into the field of automotive intelligence. Subsequently, the company released the intelligent car brain strategy in 2017 and acquired Jiefa Technology, further deploying in the field of automotive electronic chips.

During the transformation process, Siwei Tuxin increased its R&D investment. By 2018, R&D investment accounted for the proportion of the company's operating income exceeded 50% for the first time, and such high-intensity R&D investment has been maintained since then, which inevitably affected the company's performance. It was also in 2018 that the company's net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses listed for the first time, and exceeded 1 billion yuan. In the following years, except for the net profit in 2021, which was barely positive, the other years all reported losses, and in 2023, the company's loss amounted to as high as 1.428 billion yuan.

In the media exchange session, a reporter from China Fund Daily asked when the "inflection point" of R&D investment and performance would come. Siwei Tuxin CEO Cheng Peng said "2023 is the inflection point."

Cheng Peng said that he does not think that the company's total R&D costs will be reduced in the future. "Our method is to maintain high-intensity R&D, attack several fields, and in those key fields, Siwei Tuxin must be among the top one or two in the industry." In the past two years, the company's revenue growth has been in the range of 10% to 20%, and Cheng Peng believes that the revenue growth will increase rapidly in the future. "When the revenue growth increases rapidly, our R&D cost growth will not be so fast, and we can achieve a rapid increase in labor efficiency more steadily." He said.

Siwei Tuxin's Secretary of the Board Meng Qingxin also said that full self-research or full control is not necessarily a good method, after all, the R&D investment is relatively large. Subsequently, Siwei Tu may supplement some related "capabilities" through acquisitions or mergers.