Why does Unitree's manned transformable mech sell for 3.9 million yuan?

Abstract: How to use Unitree's humanoid mech priced at 3.9 million yuan?

Unitree's humanoid mech is unveiled for the first time at a price of 3.9 million yuan

On May 12th, Unitree Technology threw a "metal block" bombshell into the market, the GD01 manned transformable mech, priced from 3.9 million yuan.

According to official disclosure, this is the world's first mass - produced manned mech, capable of switching between upright walking and quadruped crawling modes. It weighs about 500 kilograms when carrying a person and can punch down a brick wall without moving an inch. Founder Wang Xingxing specifically climbed into the cockpit for a demonstration. Some netizens directly commented, "I will attack in Gundam form."

But for a mech priced at 3.9 million yuan, many people's first reaction is: Who will buy it? What are the application scenarios exactly?

Actually, this pricing is not a random decision. Looking back at history, in 2012, Japan's Suidobashi Heavy Industry's Kuratas manned mech, which is 4 meters tall and weighs 4 tons, is a handicraft - level product and was sold for $1 million.

Unitree's mech is eight times lighter and in mass - production, yet it is sold at only 60% of the price. Perhaps for some people on their consumption list, this price is not outrageous.

In Unitree's own product line, from the 26,900 - yuan dual - arm robot R1 to the 3.9 - million - yuan GD01, Unitree has covered the price range from "ten - thousand - yuan - level tools" to "million - yuan - level luxury goods". The humanoid mech might be the "ceiling of the product system".

The real business logic of the GD01 is not about high volume sales but about scenarios. Cultural and tourism scenic spots and science and technology museums are the most likely first - batch buyers. Imagine a manned and transformable mech placed at the entrance of a theme park. Even if it only receives 200 paying experience - seekers per day and charges 99 yuan per person, it's not unreasonable to cover most of the equipment cost in a year.

Some industry insiders told Phoenix Tech that "parks like Universal Studios may have such a demand."

Another group of practitioners think that "it may be more suitable for special operations", but they also believe that at present, it is definitely in the exploration stage. "Robots do not have the ability to work autonomously. At present, both autonomous movement and autonomous operation are far from satisfactory. Second, the terrain - passing ability is poor. In scenarios such as earthquake relief, high requirements are placed on the robot's ability to pass through complex ground and their balance ability." In addition, the battery life and fine hand - operated work still need to be improved.

However, this does not prevent the market from showing great attention to it.

For high - net - worth individuals, the word "first" in the world's first mass - produced manned mech naturally implies scarcity. Just as some people spend more than three million on a rare watch, some people are willing to spend 3.9 million on a mech they can sit in.

The mech can move, but the "brain" still needs time

On March 20th this year, the Shanghai Stock Exchange accepted Unitree Technology's application for IPO on the STAR Market, planning to raise 4.202 billion yuan. The release of the GD01 was less than two months from this time point. The financial foundation is indeed solid: In 2025, the revenue was 1.708 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 335%, and the net profit after deducting non - recurring items was 600 million yuan, more than six times the previous year.

The company shipped 5,500 humanoid robots, accounting for 32.4% of the global market share, and the cumulative sales of quadruped robots exceeded 30,000 units, both ranking first in the world. Looking at these figures together, it's clear that the GD01 is not a machine aimed at the retail market. For the capital market, this is also a strong proof.

Returning to the product itself, how powerful is the GD01 in terms of its body? In fact, it packages Unitree's technological routes of the past few years all at once.

From the consumer - grade robot dog Go1 in 2024, to the G1 humanoid robot that appeared on the Spring Festival Gala in 2025, then to the 26,900 - yuan R1 dual - arm robot released in April 2026, and finally to the GD01 manned mech, it has completed a three - level leap in two years.

The core of the GD01 lies in its 500 - kilogram - level dynamic balance control, seamless switching between humanoid and quadruped modes, and the ability to punch down a brick wall without the body shaking. However, these abilities did not come out of thin air. They are supported by Unitree's long - term full - stack self - developed system: self - developed M107 high - torque - density joint motors, precision servo drive systems, and reinforcement learning motion control algorithms.

The self - development rate of core components exceeds 90%, and the motors, reducers, and controllers are basically self - controllable.

However, Unitree has never avoided the shortcoming in the "brain" aspect, which also makes the current application of the humanoid mech a bit difficult.

The GD01 currently shows more of its mechanical movement ability. There is still a lot of room for improvement in the dimensions representing the core of "embodied intelligence", such as autonomous perception, environmental understanding, and intelligent decision - making.

There is also a reality problem that cannot be avoided: safety. Unitree specifically emphasized at the end of the promotional video that "users are requested not to make dangerous modifications and use of the robot" and "do not imitate the extreme tests". It also clearly reminds that "the global development of humanoid robots is still in the early exploration stage. Personal users must fully understand the limitations of humanoid robots before purchasing."

This actually shows that for the GD01 to truly be used as a "civilian vehicle", the supporting facilities such as safety certification, road traffic regulations, battery life, and after - sales maintenance system are far more than what is shown in the current video.

"But anyway, we support Unitree," a practitioner in the field of embodied intelligence told Phoenix Tech. "The imagination of humanoid mechs is so cool." He said, "If the industry is going to start laying out this business in the future, then Unitree is the first to enter and has accumulated experience."

The change of Chinese enterprises from OEM following to leading in product launches is more worthy of mention than how many units of the GD01 can be sold. But the real test lies ahead. The road from "showing off strength" to "creating sustainable business value" is longer than the journey from robot dogs to mechs.

(Zhao Zikun also contributed to this article)

This article is from the WeChat official account "Phoenix Tech", author: Jiang Fan. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.