BYD Determined to Release New Type of Smart Driving Technology

China’s BYD is set to launch new smart driving technology at the end of March, as reported by cnevpost on February 6, 2024. The first BYD Urban Pilot Assist driving feature will be available on March 30th, this media reported. The BYD Denza N7 SUV will be the first in the auto giant’s 20+ lineup to receive the upgrade, it added.

On January 16, 2024, BYD launched a new smart car system called Xuanji during Dream Day. At the same time, it announced plans to invest 5 billion yuan (approximately $718 million) in the development of battery-specific test drive sites across China.

BYD is expanding the hiring of software engineers to improve smart car technology. This is part of an effort to match the smart driving levels of competitors like Tesla, Nio, Xiaopeng Motors, and Huawei. BYD employs more than 90,000 people in its research and development department, more than 4,000 of whom work in Level 2 smart driving, Reuters reported. The company has a total of 230,000 employees across 50 sites worldwide.

Last year, BYD was the first Chinese automaker to secure a conditional test license for L3 autonomous driving on the Shenzhen Expressway.

BYD is investing $14 billion (1,000 billion yuan) to become a leader in intelligent driving. From now on, BYD cars priced above 300,000 yuan (about $42,000) will include this new technology as standard, cnevpost reported. It is available as an option on low-cost models.