What’s Happening: Luminar, a leading global automotive technology company, announced a partnership with TPK, a multi-billion dollar supplier to companies like Apple and Tesla, at the Shanghai Auto Show. The partnership aims to build and operate a high-volume factory to meet the growing demand for Luminar’s LiDAR technology in Asia. This comes after Luminar’s recent announcement of a new high-volume factory in Mexico. The company now boasts a global manufacturing footprint that includes the United States, Mexico, Thailand, and China.
Why It Matters: With the unveiling of Volvo Cars’ EX90 Excellence, which comes with Luminar LiDAR as standard, the demand for LiDAR technology to enable next-generation safety and autonomous capabilities is growing rapidly. China, in particular, has a strong demand for LiDAR, with roughly half of the 20 million vehicles sold last year coming from foreign-branded automakers, many of which are Luminar partners.
Key Points:
- TPK has a strong track record of producing innovative high-performance and automotive-grade technology at scale, making it an ideal partner for Luminar.
- The new factory will initially be capable of producing up to 600,000 Luminar LiDAR sensors annually to support awarded programs from automakers, including Mercedes-Benz.
- TPK plans to purchase Luminar stock, reflecting its belief in Luminar’s potential.
- Volvo Cars unveiled the Volvo EX90 Excellence, featuring Luminar LiDAR as standard on every car, marking a pivotal moment for the future of safety and autonomous driving in the automotive industry.
Bottom Line: The partnership between Luminar and TPK signifies the growing demand for LiDAR technology in the automotive industry, particularly in the Asian market. The new high-volume factory will help meet this demand, while also showcasing TPK’s strong engineering and automation capabilities for mass production. With the integration of Luminar LiDAR in Volvo’s EX90 Excellence, the future of safety and autonomous driving in the automotive industry is expected to advance significantly.
