Gasgoo Munich- Desay SV has officially kicked off its Hong Kong IPO process, filing an application for a listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Morgan Stanley and Huatai International are acting as joint sponsors.
For this automotive electronics leader, which has been listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange for nearly nine years, a dual "A+H" listing is far more than a simple fundraising exercise.
Having secured the No. 1 spot in China’s markets for both smart cockpits and smart driving domain controllers, Desay SV’s next chapter is inevitably pointing toward globalization.
Solid Fundamentals: Market Share Leader, But the Ceiling Looms
First, look at the numbers.
Image Source: Desay SV Prospectus
From 2023 to 2025, Desay SV’s revenue climbed from 21.9 billion yuan to 32.6 billion yuan, representing a compound annual growth rate of 21.9%. Net profit rose from 1.54 billion yuan to 2.47 billion yuan, lifting the net margin from 7.0% to 7.6%. The company posted an average return on equity of 21.1% over the three years, with positive operating cash flow throughout—reaching 2.88 billion yuan in 2025.
In an era where manufacturers often see "revenue growth without profit gains," the value of this scorecard is self-evident. Behind these figures lie Desay SV’s three core pillars: smart cockpits, smart driving, and connected services. In 2025, the smart cockpit business generated 20.585 billion yuan in revenue, accounting for 63.23% of total revenue, with annualized sales from new projects exceeding 20 billion yuan. The smart driving business brought in 9.7 billion yuan—surging 32.63% year-on-year—with annualized new project sales surpassing 13 billion yuan.
Image Source: Desay SV Prospectus
Compared to sector peers, Desay SV ranked first globally and in China for smart cockpit domain controller revenue in 2025. Its market share stood at 8.4% globally and 17.9% in China.
Image Source: Desay SV Prospectus
In the smart driving domain controller sector, Desay SV also leads global third-party suppliers with an 8.8% market share. Its leading position is even more evident in China, where it holds a 21.2% share.
It is safe to say that Desay SV has secured a firm seat in the first tier of the global automotive intelligence supply chain.
Behind that impressive market share lies a formidable client roster.
As of the latest practicable date, Desay SV’s products and services cover over 80 automakers worldwide. Among the top ten global OEMs by sales volume in 2025, nine are Desay SV clients. All of the top fifteen Chinese OEMs have business ties with the company.
In the auto parts industry, this level of coverage is considered "top-tier."
Yet, the prospectus candidly reveals a set of numbers that cannot be ignored: 92.6% of Desay SV’s revenue comes from mainland China. Its top five customers contributed 55.5% of sales, with the largest client accounting for 14.5%.
In other words, while Desay SV is the undisputed leader in the Chinese market, it remains a "local elite" rather than a "global force" on the world stage.
The subtle shift in gross margins also warrants attention.
Over the past few years, Desay SV’s overall gross margin dipped slightly from 20.0% in 2023 to 19.1% in 2025. Notably, the margin for smart driving products retreated from 19.9% to 16.4%.
The reasons are twofold. First, as the penetration rate of automotive intelligence rises, competition is intensifying. To grab market share, price wars have become inevitable, squeezing profit margins. Second, smart driving technology is iterating rapidly, requiring massive and sustained R&D investment. To maintain a technological edge, the company must pour funds into new tech and products—from algorithm optimization and hardware upgrades to deep customization with OEMs—all of which add to cost pressures.
Amid these multiple challenges, a Hong Kong listing is not a choice, but a necessity.
With domestic market share nearing its ceiling and client pressure for annual price cuts mounting, the only way to break through growth limits is to unlock global markets. After all, the global market is far broader than any single regional market.
In a sense, listing H-shares serves as Desay SV’s passport from "China Champion" to "Global Player."
Global Ambition: No Old Coordinates on the New "Map"
If the domestic business is Desay SV’s "foundation," then globalization and emerging businesses are the main narrative driving its future valuation.
The prospectus reveals that Desay SV is accelerating its overseas expansion with a "localized globalization" strategy. Beyond R&D centers in China, Singapore, Japan, and Germany, its smart factory in Spain is under construction. A research and manufacturing network spanning Asia and Europe is taking shape.
Yet, the path overseas is rarely smooth. Geopolitical tensions, export controls, and tariff barriers stand as real challenges. Evolving U.S. rules on outbound investment scrutiny and export regulations could disrupt supply chains involving semiconductors and artificial intelligence at any time.
Although Desay SV states it has not triggered relevant financial thresholds, it cannot guarantee that regulatory standards will not tighten. Currency fluctuations, labor laws, and intellectual property protection—every hurdle is an inevitable challenge for companies going abroad.
Moreover, globalization is not merely about selling products abroad; it involves relocating the entire ecosystem of R&D, production, and service. For any Chinese enterprise, this is a stress test of organizational capability.
Even more noteworthy is the second battlefield Desay SV is opening up.
Image Source: Desay SV Prospectus
In 2025, Desay SV launched the unmanned delivery vehicle brand "Chuanxing Zhiyuan" and the smart robot base "AI Cube." The former targets urban delivery, having initiated test operations in multiple cities and securing orders from logistics companies. The latter offers a modular "plug-and-play" computing core for robot manufacturers, with several designated projects currently under validation.
The underlying logic here is consistent. Automotive-grade sensing, computing, and control capabilities overlap heavily with the foundational architecture of unmanned delivery and smart robots. Reusing technical assets to enter new tracks is the most strategic move for a mature tech company.
Take AI Cube as an example. Similar to Desay SV’s domain controllers, it integrates sensor suite interfaces, middleware, and core computing functions for smart robots. It adopts a plug-and-play core board modular design, flexibly connecting cameras, radar, and LiDAR. By providing customized services—including mature low-level drivers, middleware, and debugging tools—it helps clients significantly shorten development cycles, boost R&D efficiency, and reduce overall costs.
The market potential is immense. According to Frost & Sullivan, the global unmanned delivery vehicle market is projected to surge from 5.2 billion yuan in 2025 to 626 billion yuan by 2030. The smart robot market is expected to reach 797.5 billion yuan.
However, a sobering reality remains: as of the end of 2025, these new businesses had not generated any revenue. The story of a second growth curve is attractive, but the realization process is starkly challenging.
Specifically, the commercialization of unmanned delivery vehicles depends on variables like road rights, operating costs, and technological maturity. Meanwhile, the smart robot base faces the long test of downstream client development cycles. These factors make it clear that building new growth curves in these fields will be no easy feat for Desay SV.
Conclusion
From Huizhou to the world, from cockpit electronics to mobile intelligence, Desay SV has leveraged four decades of technological accumulation to secure its position as the market share leader.
But past glory does not automatically convert into a future passport.
With this Hong Kong listing, Desay SV faces one core question: once the halo of "China Champion" fades, can it prove itself a true "world-class player" on the global stage?
The answer is not in the prospectus, but in every future earnings report and every overseas order Desay SV secures.
