"Big Banks" HSBC Research: China Improves Autonomous Driving Legal Framework, Optimistic About XPeng and Horizon

HSBC Global Research published a report on China's autonomous driving, indicating that recent policy trends show that the legal framework for autonomous driving is gradually improving. It believes that the two draft standards released this month, namely the L4 level autonomous passenger vehicle standard draft published by the China Society of Automotive Engineers, and the public opinion draft of the national safety regulations for L3 and L4 level autonomous driving systems released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, mark a further strengthening of regulatory efforts. This will establish clearer norms for the safety, testing processes, and operational consistency of L3 and L4 level autonomous vehicles, accelerating the standardization and scaling of autonomous driving commercialization.

The bank believes that the relevant regulatory progress clarifies safety standards and related guidelines, which will help leading companies with strong technological capabilities and compliance abilities to benefit first. The bank expects that L3 level autonomous driving technology will achieve widespread commercial deployment on highways and urban roads between 2026 and 2027, while L4 level applications will rapidly expand in designated scenarios. In terms of stocks, it prefers XPeng-W (09868.HK) and HORIZONROBOT-W (09660.HK).

The bank currently gives XPeng and HORIZONROBOT a "Buy" rating, with target prices of HKD 108 and HKD 11, respectively. The target price for XPeng (XPEV.US) in the US stock market is USD 27.7