On January 23, 2026, QCraft (Lightboat Intelligence) unveiled its QCraft DAY 2026 event in Beijing, marking a pivotal moment in China's autonomous driving evolution. The company announced over 1 million assisted driving systems deployed, the industry's first single-journey 6M urban NOA on Li Auto's refreshed L-series, and ambitious plans for 50 models in 2026. Amid broader Chinese EV industry momentum—including Chery's South Africa factory acquisition and supply chain advancements—this signals accelerated tech commercialization and global expansion.
QCraft Hits 1M Assisted Driving Milestone with Urban NOA Leap
QCraft's "Lightboat Wind" AD solutions have reached a scale milestone: over 1 million units installed by January 2026, with cumulative assisted driving mileage exceeding 2.5 billion km and 100 million smart parking uses. Safety stats shine—AEB false triggers under 1 per 400,000 km, averting 146,000 potential accidents annually.
Key highlights:
- First single 6M chip urban NOA: Launched January 21 on Li Auto L-series (AD Pro), delivering 128 TOPS performance rivaling 256 TOPS via end-to-end optimization.
- Lightboat Wind 2.0 Matrix:
Product Compute Power Sensors Focus AIR ~80 TOPS 7V Extreme highway NOA PRO ~200 TOPS 11V/11V1L Affordable urban NOA MAX >500 TOPS 11V1L VLA + World Model - Partnerships with nearly 10 OEMs (Li Auto, Chery, SAIC, Geely) on 23 models; 50+ slated for 2026, pushing urban NOA to mass-market 100,000 RMB vehicles.
CEO Yu Qian emphasized a pragmatic L2+L4 dual-drive path, validated by million-user scale in just 8 months from 500k to 1M units.
VLA + World Model: Unified L2-L4 Tech Foundation
QCraft debuted its VLA (Vision-Language-Action) + World Model architecture, creating a shared tech base for L2 assisted driving and L4 autonomy. This addresses end-to-end "black box" risks with interpretable models, enabling text understanding, behavior prediction, and seamless human-AI interaction.
- Built on a full-stack data loop from 2019, including auto-labeling and simulation.
- Compatible with Qualcomm, Nvidia chips; proven on 6M single-chip for cost-effective urban NOA.
Yu Qian predicts 2026 as the "superhuman intelligence" era: monthly urban NOA takeovers, AD insurance 50% below human rates.
Entering L4 Logistics: 'Production-Ready Operations' with Chery
QCraft announced L4 unmanned logistics push, partnering with Chery Commercial for scalable solutions. First-gen product offers:
- Million-unit validated safety.
- Multi-scenario (urban/rural delivery) flexibility.
- "4S" lifecycle services.
Deployments underway in Jinhua, Wuhu, Ningbo; 2025-2027 roadmap targets mass operations.
Broader Chinese EV Ecosystem Momentum
QCraft's advances align with industry surges:
- Chery Global Play: Acquiring Nissan's Rosslyn factory (deal closes mid-2026), bolstering #2 sales in South Africa.
- Supply Chain Strength: Etake (Chery/Xiaomi-backed) IPO approved, 25.5% body controller market share; Aptiv Wuhan factory topping out for EV harnesses (Q3 2026 production).
- Manufacturing Innovation: Dongfeng's 16,000T die-casting line delivers first battery box, cutting parts/weight for range gains.
These moves underscore China's EV supply chain resilience amid global tensions, like Japanese firms' chip data-sharing.
Why This Matters: Global Implications for Chinese EVs
QCraft's milestones democratize advanced AD—"smart driving equality" from 80k-400k RMB cars—while L4 logistics taps a trillion-yuan market. Chery's Africa foothold and supplier IPOs signal China's pivot to globalization, countering tariffs with software edge. Competitors like XPeng, NIO watch closely as urban NOA proliferates.
Looking Ahead: 2026 as Autonomous Turning Point
With 50 models incoming and L4 deployments scaling, QCraft eyes "production即operations." Expect rapid AD adoption, cost drops, and Chinese EVs leading urban autonomy worldwide—potentially reshaping insurance, logistics, and mobility by decade's end.
