(Yicai) April 8 -- Great Wall Motor and Unitree Robotics have signed an agreement to collaborate on integrating robotics and other advanced technologies into the auto industry.

The pair will work together in three key areas: fundamental technologies for embodied intelligence, vehicle-plus-robot scenarios, and upgrades to smart vehicle production, with the aim of getting robotics technologies from the lab to the factory more quickly, Great Wall announced today.

Their collaboration will focus first on the integration of off-road vehicles and robotic dogs in areas such as transporting equipment and adventure companionship, the Baoding-based company said.

Hangzhou-based Unitree, founded in 2016, develops high-performance consumer and industrial-use quadruped and humanoid robots, as well as six-axis robotic arms. It was named in the 2024 Forbes China Top 50 Most Innovative Companies and ranked 43rd on the Forbes China AI Tech Top 50 Firms list.

Great Wall also said the automaker, whose brands include Haval, Wey, Ora, Tank, and GWM Pickup, plans to distribute an annual cash dividend for last year of CNY0.45 (6 US cents) per share, inclusive of tax. 

The company’s shares [SHA: 601633] closed up 1.9 percent at CNY22.95 (USD3.14) each in Shanghai today. The stock is still down 9.1 percent so far this year.

Great Wall has maintained a dividend payout ratio exceeding 30 percent for three straight years, distributing a total of around CNY8.95 billion (USD1.22 billion) over the period, or 96 percent of the firm's average net profit attributable to shareholders.

Editor: Tom Litting