BYD’s venture into autonomous driving is expected to solidify its leading position in China’s auto sector and spur other car makers to offer more low-cost smart driving solutions, analysts said.
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“BYD has now gone from 0 to 1 in [autonomous driving] development, which will accelerate the adoption rate of the function in the mass market and lead to a wave of upgrades by existing users,” Johnson Wan, an analyst at Jefferies, said in a report on Tuesday.
On Monday, Shenzhen-based BYD hosted a launch event for its “God’s Eye” autonomous driving system and said it would be added to at least 21 of its electric vehicle (EV) models – with no change in price.
At the event, BYD founder and Chairman Wang Chuanfu said the move marked “a new era when all customers can access smart driving”.
Wan said the introduction of God’s Eye will allow BYD to maintain its high market share in China’s auto market. In 2024, the company commanded a 15 per cent share of China’s passenger vehicle market and 34 per cent of the national EV market, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association.
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The addition of autonomous driving features to its mid- to low-end EV models would “meaningfully increase” BYD’s sales volume, according to a report from Deutsche Bank on Tuesday. The investment bank increased its estimate for BYD’s 2025 sales volume to 5.6 million units from 5.5 million.