Joyson Electronic enters robotic race in bid to soup up its IPO

The veteran maker of automotive air bags, which boasts over 100 clients, has filed to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Key Takeaways：

• Joyson Electronic has filed to list in Hong Kong, revealing it recently raised prices for its air bags to offset declining sales volumes
• The automotive veteran is venturing into robotics through a strategic partnership with AgiBot

By Bai Xin Rui

Rising automotive safety standards and the shift from gas to electric vehicles have turned an investor spotlight to makers of the automotive parts that power such vehicles, a less glamorous industry that received relatively little attention in the past. One of those, veteran Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp. (600699.SH) has disclosed plans for a Hong Kong IPO, becoming the latest company listed on China’s domestic boards in Shanghai and Shenzhen to attempt second listings targeting Hong Kong’s more global investor pool.

While the company mostly manufactures traditional automotive parts, it’s trying to jazz up its listing with disclosure of a recent move into the sexier robotics sector that’s become a popular investor flavor lately. More on that shortly.

Formerly the automotive parts division of the Joyson Group in the Eastern city of Ningbo, Joyson Electronic started off primarily as a supplier of high-end automotive functional parts and interior/exterior trim components, according to its preliminary prospectus filed earlier this month. The automotive parts company was restructured in 2010, and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange the next year. Its current controlling shareholder is Wang Jianfeng, who directly holds 37.17% of Joyson Electronic through the Joyson Group.

Joyson Electronic mainly makes automotive safety and electronic solutions, accounting for 62.6% and 27.7% of its revenue in the first four months of this year, respectively. Airbags and smart steering wheels are the primary revenue drivers for safety solutions, contributing 41.8% of the company’s total revenue.

Automotive safety giant

Airbags are critical for automotive safety, used to absorb strong forces that occur during severe collisions to protect drivers. Joyson Electronic has been the world’s second largest producer of passive automotive safety products for four consecutive years between 2021 and 2024, commanding 22.9% of the market, according to its listing document.

As automobile safety standards across the world become increasingly strict, carmakers are paying more attention to such features in their vehicles. The global market for passive automotive safety products is expected to reach 173.4 billion yuan ($24.11 billion) this year and forecast to grow about 5.4% annually over the next five years to 213.6 billion yuan in 2029, according to third-party market data in the preliminary prospectus.

While airbags and smart steering wheels are Joyson Electronic’s biggest breadwinners, it’s notable that sales volumes for both fell by 2% year-on-year in the first four months of 2025. The company offset that decline with a 4% year-on-year increase in average selling prices, allowing it to salvage a 1.9% increase to 8.24 billion yuan for its safety revenue during the four-month period. That lift also helped the company post a small 1.4% increase in its overall net profit to 490 million yuan during the period.

While its core safety products managed to eke out revenue gains, Joyson Electronic’s automotive electronic solutions segment, which contributed about 30% of total revenue, declined in 2024 and continued to slip 1.1% year-on-year in the first four months of 2025. The company attributed the revenue drop to weakening demand after subsidy cuts for new energy vehicle purchases in several European countries.

While boasting over 100 clients, Joyson Electronics’ business is heavily concentrated in Europe. Of the company’s 19.71 billion yuan in revenue during the first four months of 2025, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) contributed 41.6% of the total. Its top two customers are German automakers, accounting for a combined 30% of overall revenue, making European automotive policies highly pertinent to the company. Joyson could also be affected by a proposed 15% tariff on vehicles and automotive parts imported from Europe to the U.S.

As more barriers emerge and its core product lines mature, Joyson Electronic is trying to use its veteran status, including rich manufacturing experience and customer connections, to test out the hot robotics space. Such a pivot could become a major new growth driver, given the similarities between components used in cars and humanoid robots.

Potential in humanoid robots

A growing number of global technology companies are investing in humanoid robots, including Tesla, Figure AI, which is backed by OpenAI and Nvidia, China’s own Unitree, and AgiBot, which became publicly traded in Shanghai through a backdoor listing using Shanghai-traded Swancor (688585.SH). The humanoid robot market is expected to grow at an explosive average annual rate of 57% over the next five years, reaching $32.4 billion in 2029, fueled by advances in robotic technology and AI, according to data in Joyson’s listing document.

Seeing an opportunity, Joyson Electronic is focusing on three core robotic-related areas that it calls “Brain-Cerebellum-Body.” In the “Brain” area, encompassing intelligent systems, it is strengthening cooperation with leading AI players to co-develop large-model-based robot intelligence systems. In the “Cerebellum” area involving motion control, it is developing advanced motion control systems. And in the “Body” area involving mechanical structure, it is intensifying its research on mechanical structure design and new material applications.

According to research from TF International Securities, Joyson Electronic now holds a rich mix of products for use in humanoid robots, including sensor suites, robot energy management modules, robot high-performance materials, as well as olfactory sensors, six-axis force sensors, and inertial measurement units (IMUs).

Attractive valuation 

In pursuit of its robotic ambitions, Joyson Electronic has also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with AgiBot, considered a leader in Chinese robotics. Under the agreement, AgiBot will consider Joyson’s components as first choice for its procurement. AgiBot and Unitree previously secured a contract from China Mobile (Hangzhou) Information Technology for humanoid bipedal robot manufacturing services from 2025 to 2027. Thus, the strategic partnership with AgiBot appears to validate Joyson Electronic’s growing prowess in the robotic supply chain.

Joyson’s Shanghai-listed shares currently trade at a relatively modest forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 16.8 times, falling to 14 times for 2026. A Hong Kong listing could potentially get a higher multiple of 20 times or more if investors buy into the potential for the company’s robotic initiatives. A de-escalation in the U.S.-China trade war could also help to boost the stock – a factor that will only become clearer in the months ahead.

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