Horizon's Yu Kai Proposes "Outward Competition" Strategy: Driving Automotive Value Through User Experience

During the 2026 Beijing International Auto Show, Yu Kai, founder of Horizon Robotics, proposed an alternative approach to address the intense internal competition ("involution") and cost-reduction pressures currently facing the automotive industry. He warned that if the industry continues down its current path, automakers, suppliers, and consumers will all end up losing: homogenized competition pushes pricing pressure down the supply chain, leaving suppliers with insufficient profits to invest in R&D, ultimately depriving consumers of high-performance products. Yu advocated shifting from "internal involution" to "external expansion"—moving beyond internal cutthroat competition and instead focusing on user experience and user value. He illustrated this with an example: if a vehicle originally priced at RMB 160,000 is upgraded with enhanced intelligent capabilities and successfully sold for RMB 190,000 because users willingly pay the premium, this truly reflects value creation. Such a model enables a win-win-win outcome: automakers sell higher-value products, suppliers secure funding for innovation, and consumers recognize the tangible value of the features they purchase. Yu emphasized that Horizon’s goal is to deliver the best technology and products—ones genuinely recognized by consumers—and to build a differentiated ecosystem through open collaboration. He stressed that the industry should not pursue a one-size-fits-all solution but instead support diverse experiences, much like catering to individual preferences for French cuisine, Italian cuisine, or other personalized choices.