UBTech to Supply 400 U1 Pro Humanoids to Auto Dealer Yongda
Yongda will put UBTech's lifelike U1 Pro robots in its showrooms, with the first 400 units due before year-end.
UBTech Robotics has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Yongda Automobiles Services Holdings, under which the Hong Kong-listed luxury car dealer will buy 400 of UBTech's UWORLD U1 Pro humanoid robots, with deliveries planned before the end of the year. The agreement was signed in Shanghai on November 11.
The robots are headed for Yongda's showrooms. The first 400 U1 Pro units will be used for product demonstrations, sales and customer service, as the two companies work out a repeatable model for selling and servicing lifelike humanoids through car dealerships. Yongda operates a multi-city, multi-brand dealership network in China and serves a large base of high-net-worth customers.
The partners also plan a dedicated UBTech robot experience and exhibition center in Shanghai, plus store-in-store displays inside Yongda outlets in East China. Beyond the consumer market, the two sides will explore humanoid robots in auto-retail service scenarios, from demand research and leasing to on-site deployment.
The U1 Pro is the full-body version of UBTech's UWORLD U1, a lifelike companion humanoid that went on sale June 30 at RMB 169,800, about $24,000. The robot stands 1.68 meters tall in its female build, carries 88 degrees of freedom, and is built for conversation and emotional companionship. UBTech says plainly that it cannot cook, clean, or do chores. The company says pre-orders for the U1 line passed 13,000 units, with deliveries starting in September.
The companies disclosed no financial terms. At the U1 Pro's list price, 400 units would cost about RMB 68 million, or about $9.6 million. The deal is a distribution agreement, not a deployment result: the test will be whether showroom visitors become buyers. It is UBTech's latest commercial pact in a busy autumn that also includes a joint venture with Xiamen C&D targeting 10,000 humanoid sales by 2030 and a November 9 agreement with China Telecom's terminal arm to push companion robots through telecom stores.