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BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle maker that is Tesla’s biggest rival, has unveiled an advanced self-driving system that it plans to install on its entire model line-up including the Rmb70,000 ($9,600) Seagull budget hatchback.
Dubbed “God’s Eye”, the driving system was developed in-house by BYD and will equip the automaker’s mass-market models with features commonly only found on upscale electric vehicles such as remote parking via smartphones and autonomous overtaking on roads.
“[We are] starting an era where autonomous driving is for everyone,” said found Wang Chuanfu at a livestreamed event in BYD’s Shenzhen headquarters on Monday.
Advanced driver-assistance systems were “no longer an unattainable luxury, but an essential tool . . . like safety belts and airbags”, said Wang.
BYD has become the biggest EV producer in China, the world’s largest auto market, by providing a wide range of affordable EVs built using its highly vertically integrated supply chain. However, the company’s slow progress in developing self-driving capabilities has long been regarded as one of its biggest shortcomings.
Investor anticipation of BYD’s update of its self-driving technology plans sent the company’s Hong Kong-listed shares surging 21 per cent over five sessions last week.
Installation of the God’s Eye system “filled the void” in the self-driving market for vehicles priced below Rmb150,000, said Lu Daokuan, an S&P Global Mobility analyst.
“No matter whether on hardware specifications or smart-driving functions, BYD’s cars are taking the lead over all the competitors in the segment,” added Lu. “BYD is a company that specialises in . . . optimising the cost structure, so it’s no surprise that it started investing in in-house self-driving R&D.”
Last year, light vehicles with so-called Level 2 partial automation features accounted for only about 8.5 per cent of the Chinese market, according to S&P Global Mobility data.
Consumers in China are more willing to pay extra for sophisticated in-car technology than in most parts of the world. According to an EY survey of consumers last year, only 39 per cent of surveyed Chinese EV owners rated “expensive services” primarily consisting in-car connectivity as a “challenge”, while 45 per cent of European and 47 per cent of US respondents highlighted it as a primary concern.
Elon Musk’s Tesla is attempting to win Beijing regulators’ approval for its “full self-driving” software.
BYD on Monday also joined a cohort of local peers including Geely, Great Wall Motor and Stellantis partner Leapmotor that are seeking to integrate Chinese start-up sensation DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence into their vehicle systems.
Analysts said they expected DeepSeek, which last month overturned assumptions about US supremacy in AI, would allow Chinese carmakers to offer more powerful features such as the use of more sophisticated in-car voice commands.
“After the DeepSeek surprise during the Chinese new year, intelligence initiatives could remain a key theme among auto stocks,” said Paul Gong, an auto analyst at UBS.
“Longer-term, we see Chinese carmakers taking the lead on intelligence innovations and democratising these technologies in mass-market cars,” he said.
