On Thursday, Hesai Group (HSAI.US) saw its stock price climb more than 5%, reaching $28.13. The growth is driven by the ongoing evolution of vehicle autonomous capabilities, which has kept the related industry chain growing at a high rate in recent years. As a key hardware component for distance measurement, lidar shipments have been consistently increasing. A production director from a relevant company noted that the price of entry-level lidar on the market has now dropped to relatively low levels. "With prices possibly around 1,000, 2,000, or 3,000 yuan, vehicles can be equipped with conventional lidar systems," the director explained. Additionally, computational power support is crucial. An executive from a company specializing in intelligent computing services stated that the implementation of L3 autonomy is expected to further drive market growth. "The rollout of L3 represents a massive surge in computing power demand within the automotive and autonomous driving industries, potentially scaling by more than tenfold," the executive added. The market widely believes that 2026 could be a pivotal year for autonomous driving, marking a transition from the "technical validation phase" to "broader commercial application," presenting growth opportunities for related component manufacturers. Recently, Deutsche Bank analysts projected in a report that autonomous vehicles will move beyond the pilot phase and enter a stage of comprehensive commercial deployment.