Canalys unveils 2025’s vendor Champions in the China ADAS SoC Vendor Leadership Matrix

Seven ADAS SoC vendors – NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Horizon Robotics, Texas Instruments, Mobileye, Ambarella and SiEngine – achieved Champion status in the 2025 Canalys China ADAS SoC Leadership Matrix.

The second edition of the China ADAS SoC Leadership Matrix by Canalys recognizes seven vendors achieving Champion status. It highlights their outstanding contribution to the ADAS industry through exceptional performance and collaboration practices that drove the development of the overall automotive industry. NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Horizon Robotics, Texas Instruments and Ambarella solidified their positions, while Mobileye and SiEngine joined the ranks for the first time.

Defining Champions and vendor inclusion

Canalys assesses ADAS SoC vendors’ positions in the Leadership Matrix by analyzing feedback from ADAS Tier-1 suppliers, automotive OEMs and ecosystem partners on collaboration, alongside Canalys analysts’ evaluations of solution and market strategy competitiveness, all backed by performance metrics.

Canalys evaluated 17 ADAS SoC vendors in the Chinese market. To be considered eligible, vendors must provide ADAS SoCs that enhance perception and computing capabilities for ADAS driving features aimed at Tier-1 suppliers and automakers. Vendors recognized as champions in the ADAS industry in China exemplify industry-leading performance across several key areas:

• Technical roadmap planning and execution
• Supply chain management
• Operational efficiency
• Service quality and capabilities
• Upstream and downstream partner relationships
• Collaborative business practices

Champions have consistently showcased exceptional excellence by advancing the industry through effective collaboration while leveraging their strengths, ensuring strong business continuity and facilitating market expansion through effective solutions and strategic upgrade initiatives.

Other vendors are categorized as Contenders (market frontrunners who need to improve competitiveness and/or partner relationships), Scalers (potential rising stars with clear characteristics, such as technology innovation, that partners are looking for) and Foundations (vendors with low partner satisfaction scores and have shown minimal commitment in driving change and transformation).

Navigating the evolving ADAS landscape in China

In 2024, ADAS technologies experienced rapid evolution in China. Mainstream L2 solutions became more consolidated and matured, while L2+ features, particularly highway navigation on autopilot (NOA), began to trickle down to more affordable vehicle models. Additionally, advanced urban NOA systems saw more frequent and significant releases in high-profile flagship vehicles.

The price war extended from 2024 well into 2025 as competition among market players intensified. However, the nature of the price war evolved - automakers and brands shifted from merely competing on price to striving to offer better value and technology. This change led to the urgent need for improved cost-effectiveness in products, prompting companies to accelerate the release of new products and updates to maintain their competitiveness in the market.

ADAS is now recognized as a crucial component of automotive strategy, influencing product and go-to-market strategies. Enabling ADAS across various brands and models, ranging from entry-level to premium, has become a significant goal for automakers. Automakers actively build tiered ADAS solutions that can be adapted and deployed across model ranges, supported by robust SoCs and software that facilitate continuous integration and delivery. ADAS features undergo refinement to address more challenging scenarios to enhance the overall safety and effectiveness of the system. Coupled with an active trickle-down effect, the serialization and platformization of SoCs and related development have become key requirements that automakers emphasize for their ADAS systems.

As hardware and software surrounding NOA improved and became more accessible, the market saw an increasing number of participants joining in the market competition. Beyond the typical areas of focus, such as SoC performance, software execution and compatibility, OEMs are increasingly emphasizing mass production capabilities and how they can quickly react to market changes with the latest models and algorithms to improve the effectiveness of the ADAS systems.  Furthermore, in contrast to the past, where high-end SoC selection was primarily driven by OEMs, the successful implementation of mature solutions and the influence of ecosystem Tier-1 partners, particularly those with strong algorithm expertise, is now playing a direct and crucial role in driving SoC shipments.

As China is now the largest auto exporter, Chinese automakers are expanding globally, and global OEMs exporting EVs from China are creating additional demand. The opportunity will primarily focus on L2 systems, where SoC vendors capable of delivering complete and competitive low-to-mid-range solutions will gain a distinct advantage. As more Chinese OEMs develop global vehicle platforms, the adaptability of ADAS SoCs to diverse international market requirements will progressively become a crucial success factor.

While the introduction of US tariffs and potential responses from China may create some challenges, they can also present opportunities for innovation and strategic adjustments within the global automotive industry. This evolving landscape will encourage Chinese automakers to refine their global expansion strategies in new and creative ways. SoC vendors and ecosystem partners will have to assess the risk and diversify their approach to address such needs. In this complex and volatile market environment, achieving and maintaining leadership among ADAS SoC vendors will become increasingly challenging.