BYD offers autonomous driving!
This page is translated from the original post "BYD offre la conduite autonome !" in French.
- 11/02/2025 11:32
BYD is not holding back by offering a free deal on 21 electrified models. The AI war is back on!
The Chinese giant BYD, on the verge of becoming the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, makes a significant move in the price war. The company will equip 21 of its models, including the Seagull sold for less than 10,000 euros, with its advanced autonomous driving assistance system at no charge. This system, named “God’s Eye,” relies on DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence and allows for autonomous driving on highways and parking. The deployment via OTA update will initially occur only in China for eligible models, but the rest of the world is expected to follow soon, within the limits of local regulations.
To understand the power of the Chinese brand, it’s worth noting that this system is based on seven years of research conducted by 5,000 engineers. BYD forecasts that by 2025, 15 million vehicles in China, or two-thirds of national sales, will feature Level 2 (L2) autonomous driving functionalities. These systems manage steering, acceleration, and deceleration while still requiring the driver to remain vigilant.
Chinese democratization?
While BYD has lagged behind competitors like Tesla, Xpeng, Mercedes, or Nio in digital technologies, this free offering could disrupt the market. Currently, no car equipped with such technology sells for less than 20,000 euros in China, which translates to about 40,000 euros elsewhere. With BYD, this threshold is cut in half, making these features accessible to a broader customer base. It is estimated that production costs for these systems have halved over the past three years and that it will take less than 18 months for them to be halved again.
With this offensive, BYD hopes to popularize autonomous driving and strengthen its position as a leader. But one question remains: how long will it take for Tesla to align with this bold strategy? This initiative from BYD inevitably highlights the fact that Tesla charges $8,000 for its FSD (Full Self-Driving) technology in the United States, along with a monthly subscription of $99. A situation that could quickly become embarrassing for Elon Musk’s company.
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