Early in 2026, China's automotive industry chain received a pivotal boost: the high tariff barriers for Chinese new energy vehicle exports to Europe and Canada are showing signs of thawing. This development undoubtedly adds powerful momentum to the already rapid growth of Chinese auto exports over recent years. Looking back at 2025, China's vehicle export volume surged by 30% year-on-year, reaching 8.32 million units and claiming the top spot globally. This landmark figure, corroborated by the continuously improving external environment, points to an irreversible mega-trend: the role of China's automotive supply chain within the global division of labor is transitioning from being a "participant" to a "dominant player." Within this historical process, the movements of leading suppliers serve as a crucial barometer for observing the pace and effectiveness of the industry chain's overseas expansion.
Take MINIEYE (02431) for example; since January, this pioneer in intelligent driving has quietly placed two key strategic pieces overseas. The company first partnered with India's automotive parts giant, the Sterling Group, to jointly explore the blue ocean market for intelligent driving in South Asia. Shortly thereafter, it reached an agreement with eWTP Arabia Capital to deploy thousands of unmanned vehicles in the Middle East. Furthermore, MINIEYE recently announced that it has received a project nomination from a renowned automaker to develop and supply a series of advanced intelligent driving products for a wide range of the client's vehicle models targeting both domestic and international markets. According to the cooperation plan, the total lifetime value of orders for this project is estimated to exceed RMB 1.3 billion, with mass production scheduled to commence in the middle of this year.
As MINIEYE begins exploring ecosystem co-construction with leading overseas automotive companies, it is evolving from a previous stage of overseas expansion achieved by enabling Chinese OEMs, to a new phase involving direct collaboration with international OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. MINIEYE has now taken a critical step in its transformation towards establishing a "local presence" in overseas markets. This strategic shift not only enhances response speed but also accumulates invaluable localization experience for the company's subsequent global expansion. Guided by this clear path of global advancement, MINIEYE's long-term investment value is expected to be realized in an orderly fashion.
The consecutive strategic moves by MINIEYE in the Indian and Middle Eastern markets since the start of the year send a clear signal. As one of the main forces in the overseas expansion of China's automotive supply chain, MINIEYE had already established a mature and diversified layout for its international business. The company's mass-produced products, such as the iCabin 1 series (an integrated DMS hardware-software solution for smart cockpits) and the iSafety 3 (an integrated front-view unit for assisted driving), have been shipped to numerous countries and regions worldwide, including the EU, Australia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Dubai, and Turkey, via various export models.
Analyzing its trajectory, MINIEYE's overseas strategy can be clearly delineated into three distinct phases: a 1.0 phase characterized by "riding on others' ships," a comprehensively evolving 2.0 phase of "steering its own course" across roles, technology, and regions, and a highly imaginative future 3.0 phase focused on "local cultivation." During the 1.0 phase, MINIEYE primarily acted as an enabler for domestic OEMs, integrating its mature intelligent driving products into export vehicles to indirectly enter overseas markets. The core mission of this stage was to complete technical adaptation and compliance accumulation, achieving initial internationalization by riding the wave of Chinese vehicle exports.
However, while the "riding on others' ships" model successfully navigated MINIEYE into the vast waters of the global market and accomplished initial technical validation and channel establishment, this approach also limited its business depth and主动权, as it was contingent on the OEMs' export rhythms. Standing at a new starting point, MINIEYE is proactively seeking change, steering decisively into the 2.0 "steering its own course" phase. Moving forward, the company will directly engage with Tier 1 suppliers in overseas markets and actively establish partnerships with local OEMs and leading partners. For instance, the collaboration with India's Sterling Group signifies its direct provision of full-stack solutions to local enterprises and deep involvement in localized production planning, thereby seizing greater market initiative.
Concurrently, building on the foundations laid in the previous phase, MINIEYE has undertaken crucial deepening in both regional and technological dimensions. Regionally, its current strategy advocates for differentiated positioning. While industry attention focuses on Robotaxi trials involving US ride-hailing platforms like Uber and Lyft partnering with companies like Baidu, MINIEYE's 2.0 overseas strategy cleverly sidesteps this homogenized competition. Unlike the previous phase's exclusive focus on mature regulatory markets like the EU and Australia, the next stage will see MINIEYE pivot to a dual-track approach, simultaneously expanding into both mature markets and emerging markets offering significant incremental growth potential.
Considering the favorable regulatory tailwinds, such as India's mandate for standard ADAS and DDAWS by 2027, and the structural demand for smart logistics driven by the Middle East's "Vision 2030," which provide an ideal environment for intelligent driving companies to thrive, MINIEYE's early-mover布局 in these potential, yet unconsolidated, markets positions it to establish advantages in brand, standards, and ecosystem partnerships. Furthermore, on the technological and product front, unlike the previous phase where the mainstay exports were cost-effective, mass-production-validated L2 products, the company's L4 autonomous driving business is now ready for overseas deployment in the 2.0 phase. MINIEYE plans to scale the commercial application of high-level autonomous driving technology, with deep localization adaptations for challenging conditions like the Middle East's high temperatures and sandstorms, and India's complex road scenarios, serving as the ultimate test for its full-stack, self-developed technological system.
However, in the author's view, the 2.0 "steering its own course" phase will not be the final form of MINIEYE's overseas journey. Looking ahead to the 3.0 "local cultivation" phase, MINIEYE will dedicate itself to building autonomous operational and service systems overseas, transitioning beyond mere product sales to providing scenario-specific operations and continuous services. The ongoing plan to deploy thousands of unmanned vehicles in the Middle East, for example, sketches a blueprint for its evolution into an operator role. Through deep localization and highly responsive services, the company aims to establish long-term ecosystem advantages in key markets, thereby further enhancing its industrial influence.
The year 2025 witnessed the narrative of "democratization of intelligent driving" sweeping through the automotive industry. Catalyzed by policies, the acceleration of automotive intelligence is anticipated to reach a breakthrough period this year. Simultaneously, China's automotive industry is powerfully transitioning from competing primarily in the domestic market to engaging in global competition, a shift reflected not only in sales growth but also in innovative models and the depth of global布局. Intelligence and globalization are unequivocally the dominant themes for the future development of the automotive industry. From this perspective, MINIEYE perfectly represents the common denominator intersecting these two major long-term trends.
MINIEYE's profound experience in mass-production technology and its outstanding compliance capabilities collectively form the "moat" for its overseas competition. As of June 2025, MINIEYE had provided mass-produced products for 42 OEMs, extending its service scope from Chinese domestic brands to joint venture automakers. This extensive, multi-scenario mass-production experience serves as the most compelling endorsement of its technological reliability and forms the basis for its ability to collaborate on equal footing with local giants like India's Sterling Group. Additionally, the company's proactive布局 around overseas compliance requirements is expected to positively impact its subsequent deepening of global expansion.
Public information indicates that MINIEYE is not only one of the first domestic DMS suppliers to assist OEMs in obtaining EU General Safety Regulation certifications for DDAW and ADDW but also the first smart cockpit solution provider to help a Chinese vehicle model achieve a 5-star E-NCAP safety rating. This capability to meet the world's highest standards allows MINIEYE to transform compliance barriers into market access advantages when entering emerging markets. Viewing MINIEYE within the broader context of China's automotive supply chain, its overseas expansion path serves as a contemporary case study of Chinese Tier 1 suppliers advancing from "cost advantages" to "technology + ecosystem advantages."
As MINIEYE's 2.0 overseas phase continues to deepen, its scaling operations in emerging markets are poised to steadily increase the proportion of overseas revenue, thereby optimizing the overall revenue structure. In fact, the recently announced RMB 1.3 billion intelligent driving mega-order offers an early glimpse into the certainty of MINIEYE's future growth. While the fundamental "quality" is being elevated, it is reasonable to anticipate that MINIEYE's valuation anchor will gradually align with that of international intelligent driving technology companies possessing global ecosystem布局. It is worth noting that MINIEYE's prominent investment value is increasingly recognized by professional institutions. For instance, CLSA, in its latest research report, assigned MINIEYE an "Outperform" rating based on its solid fundamentals and the rapidly emerging "second growth engine" of unmanned logistics vehicles, setting a target price of HK$23, which implies an upside potential of over 70% from the current price.
Overall, for MINIEYE, a significant re-rating of its value may already be underway.
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