From robots to electric aviation, Wolong Electric Drive positions itself in the emerging economy

The heat surrounding intelligent robots is accelerating through every link of the industrial chain. Core component manufacturers hidden deep in the eye of the storm are now facing a reassessment of their value.

On March 21, Wolong Electric Drive, a global leader in electric motors, released its 2025 performance: full-year revenue of 15.454 billion yuan, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.126 billion yuan. This represents a year-on-year increase of 42.04% and sets a new historical high.

The impressive results are only the surface. What the market truly cares about is that this giant that has been deeply focused on electric drives for more than forty years is undergoing a profound transformation—from a traditional electric motor manufacturer to a global provider of electric drive system solutions, and to a supplier of core components for future industries.

With its main business fundamentals basically as solid as a rock, and with two strategic emerging tracks that have trillion-yuan-level market potential—embodied intelligence and the low-altitude economy—Wolong Electric Drive’s development logic has broken out of the traditional manufacturing value framework, and taken its place on the wind direction of new-quality productive forces.

1

Business model evolution

From “selling motors” to “building systems”

In 2025, the global macro environment is complex and ever-changing, yet Wolong Electric Drive has shown resilience in operations beyond the industry.

During the reporting period, the company achieved total operating revenue of 15.454 billion yuan. After excluding the impact of divested non-core assets such as photovoltaics and energy storage, revenue from its core main business achieved steady growth of 2.59%. Even more notably, the quality of profitability has made a historic leap: full-year net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company reached 1.126 billion yuan, setting a record high and increasing by as much as 42.04% year-on-year.

In addition, Wolong Electric Drive’s net cash flow from operating activities for the whole year reached 1.783 billion yuan, exceeding net profit for the period—proving the high value of its profits and its strong ability to manage working capital.

As a leader in the global electric drive field, Wolong Electric Drive has deep fundamental barriers. Its business layout is divided into five segments: explosion-proof, industrial, HVAC, new energy transportation, and robot components and system applications. Among them, HVAC, explosion-proof, and industrial form the company’s “ballast stones.”

According to Frost & Sullivan data, based on 2024 revenue, Wolong Electric Drive ranks first, fourth, and fifth globally in the markets for explosion-proof electric drive systems, industrial electric drive systems, and HVAC electric drive systems, respectively.

In 2025, the three major core businesses remain solid: HVAC, explosion-proof, and industrial businesses recorded revenues of 4.958 billion yuan, 4.633 billion yuan, and 4.095 billion yuan, respectively. Together they accounted for more than 88% of total revenue, becoming a solid backing for the company’s expansion.

Along with performance growth, the business model is also undergoing a profound evolution.

Wolong Electric Drive has stepped out of the “single motor sales” business model and shifted to providing an integrated drive-control system covering “motor + variable-frequency drive + controller + sensor + algorithm.” It no longer simply delivers hardware. Instead, it provides customers with power solutions across the full lifecycle—breaking through the growth ceiling of “growing by volume for profit” in manufacturing, while significantly increasing customer stickiness and building a deep commercial ecosystem moat.

This transformation is directly reflected in profitability. In 2025, the gross margin of Wolong Electric Drive’s explosion-proof electric drive systems increased by 0.82 percentage points to 32.18%; the gross margin of its industrial electric drive systems increased by 1.65 percentage points to 30.00%. Against the backdrop of pressured demand in the industry, it achieved high-quality growth with both volume and price rising together.

Globalization is another core strategy. “Our strategy is to aim for No.1 in global electric drive system solution providers. Deepening our globalization strategy and seizing overseas growth opportunities—globalization is our core strategy.” Wolong Electric Drive stated in its IPO prospectus submitted to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in February this year.

At present, Wolong Electric Drive has established three major overseas regional headquarters—Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas. It has also deployed 45 factories and 5 R&D centers worldwide, with production bases in Germany, Poland, Italy, Vietnam, Mexico, and other countries. Its business covers more than 100 countries and regions globally. The 2025 annual report shows that the share of overseas market revenue further increased to 41%, and that its global delivery and risk-resilience capabilities have continued to strengthen.

A solid underlying business, strong cash flow, and a global capacity layout give Wolong Electric Drive abundant funding and technical confidence to move into high-prospects, high-demand tracks such as robotics and electric aviation.

2

Systematic layout

Robotics sector

In 2026, the industry widely considers it the first year for mass production of humanoid robots. This year’s Spring Festival Gala was the most AI- and robotics-focused ever. In recent times, multiple robotics companies have secured financing in a concentrated way, further catalyzing market enthusiasm.

The critical point where the track moves from concept to implementation has arrived. And Wolong Electric Drive—having laid groundwork a full decade in advance—has become an indispensable player in the sector, leveraging its core motor technology as a “natural entry point.”

As early as 2015, Wolong Electric Drive acquired Italy’s Hill Robotics to obtain technology and customer entry points in robotics automation. In 2025, it has further accelerated its moves—actions coming one after another, refreshing the market’s perception of the company.

In March 2025, Wolong Electric Drive and Unitree Robotics completed cross-shareholding;

In June, together with Unitree Robotics and Shangyu Jiangke Digital Intelligent Industry Development Co., Ltd., it established an embodied intelligence innovation center in Hangzhou Bay through a joint venture, jointly developing R&D projects in artificial intelligence, humanoid robots, and industrial intelligent automation;

In July, Wolong Electric Drive released China’s first vertical model for industrial scenarios, the embodied robotics model “Shunzao GRP01.” Its embodied robot system is also driven by this model, enabling real-machine data to be synthesized for training.

Wolong Electric Drive’s “circle of friends” goes far beyond this. According to broker research reports and company announcements, its cooperation partners also include leading humanoid robotics companies such as CASI (Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences), Lenovo Technology, Zhejiang Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, and Cloud-sea Deep, among others.

Why can a motor manufacturer precisely enter the robotics track? The core reason lies in shared technological origins. Industrial motors and the core of humanoid robots—frameless torque motors and joint module systems—share completely the same underlying technical logic.

The prospectus shows that, leveraging the platform’s generality and modular capabilities, Wolong Electric Drive has expanded into frameless torque motors, hollow-cup motors, controllers, joint module systems, dexterous hands, and exoskeletons, forming a full set of core component solution combinations for humanoid robots.

According to the annual report, in 2025, Wolong Electric Drive’s revenue from robot components and system applications reached 516 million yuan, representing over 14% year-on-year growth.

Under the wave of embodied intelligence, Wolong Electric Drive’s “shareholder + core supplier + joint R&D” tripartite business layout directly connects to leading OEMs. It will fully benefit from the explosion of the humanoid robot industry and accelerate the formation of a new performance-growth curve.

3

Securing a first-mover advantage in electric aviation

If robotics is the windfall blowing right in front of us, then the low-altitude economy is the next trillion-yuan-level blue ocean—currently in the midst of a triple explosion of policy, technology, and demand.

This year, the National Two Sessions clearly listed the low-altitude economy as a key emerging pillar industry to be developed. According to forecasts by authoritative institutions, China’s overall low-altitude economy market size is expected to break through the 1-trillion-yuan mark in 2026, officially entering the “trillion-yuan-level” industry tier.

In the core components of eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft), the value share of electric propulsion systems can be as high as 40%, and the motor is the “heart” that determines an aircraft’s performance.

Wolong Electric Drive has once again demonstrated foresight. It established an electric aviation R&D center as early as 2019, taking the lead in laying out this blue ocean. In 2024, it teamed up with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) to develop China’s first 100-kilowatt-class aerospace electric power system, breaking overseas technological monopolies. In June 2025, Wolong Electric Drive and Wofly Aerospace, a subsidiary of Geely Holding, established a joint venture company—Zhejiang Longfei Electric Drive Technology Co., Ltd.—focused on the R&D of electric propulsion power systems for airworthy aircraft with a range from 750kg to 5700kg.

According to the prospectus, Wolong Electric Drive’s electric aviation electric propulsion system is based on a distributed electric propulsion platform. It integrates high-density aerospace-grade permanent magnet synchronous motors, 800V SiC controllers, and advanced thermal management. It can achieve a rated torque density of no less than 24 N·m/kg, a peak torque density of above 40 N·m/kg, and a system overall efficiency of no less than 94%. It features low vibration, low noise, and a wide-range torque output capability, meeting the requirements of extreme aerospace operating conditions.

It is understood that this system has already been successfully applied by high-end customers in firefighting drones, urban air mobility, and cargo drones. Because Wolong Electric Drive has overcome the core challenges in high-power-density motors and intelligent electronic control, it has become a core supplier of eVTOL power systems globally.

More importantly, Wolong Electric Drive has built the first type-certification laboratory in the country for airworthy testing—overcoming the most critical airworthiness certification barrier for aircraft motors. Typically, aircraft motor suppliers must jointly develop with aircraft manufacturers, and the certification cycle is often as long as 3 years. This threshold alone can eliminate most players.

And by leveraging its first-mover experience, Wolong Electric Drive has already successfully entered the core supply chains of COMAC, Wofly Aerospace, Shanhe Xinghang, and other OEMs, deeply binding its business and seizing incremental market opportunities.

4

Conclusion

From traditional motor manufacturing to electric drive system solution providers—from deep cultivation of its core business to securing footholds in the two trillion-yuan tracks of robotics and electric aviation—Wolong Electric Drive’s transformation is a microcosm of how China’s manufacturing leaders are upgrading to new-quality productive forces.

Relying on more than 40 years of technological accumulation, a global industrial layout, and deep customer barriers, Wolong Electric Drive is extending from its core motor technology at the center, continuously reaching into high-potential, high-value-added emerging tracks. In the waves of the energy transition, industrial automation, and the low-altitude economy, it is opening up a whole new space for long-term growth.

This is not only a switch of tracks, but also a precise bet by a global electric drive leader on future industry trends.

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