BYD Intensifies EV Price War with Affordable Autonomous Driving
China’s BYD has initiated a new price war in the electric vehicle market by equipping its models with advanced autonomous driving features, even in vehicles priced under $10,000. This strategic move, announced on Monday, undercuts competitors like Tesla and aims to broaden the accessibility of smart driving technology.
BYD founder Wang Chuanfu revealed during a livestreamed event that the company’s proprietary “God’s Eye” advanced driver-assistance system is now available on all BYD-branded models priced above 100,000 yuan ($13,688). Furthermore, the system is incorporated into three models priced below 100,000 yuan, the most affordable being the Seagull, which starts at just 69,800 yuan. Sales of these models commenced immediately after the event.
BYD electric vehicles are pictured inside the company’s Rayong, Thailand factory.
Prior to this rollout, BYD had only offered similar features in models priced from approximately $30,000. Tesla, in comparison, offers its autonomous features in China for EVs starting at $32,000.
This move is expected to significantly disrupt the market, with analysts predicting intensified competition. “The biggest revelation from BYD is that they want to equalize the right to technology,” stated Yale Zhang, managing director at Automotive Foresight. “Technology does not need to be high-end, and they can fight a price war here.” Zhang drew a comparison to DeepSeek, the AI startup, which made waves by developing AI models at a considerably lower cost than its Western counterparts.
John Zeng, head of China market forecast at GlobalData, suggested that BYD recognized the need for a breakthrough as its sales, which reached 4 million units last year, appeared to be plateauing. He anticipates that smart driving will “bring its sales to a new level.” He also noted that other automakers, such as Xpeng, will face significant pressure from BYD’s ADAS-equipped, affordable EVs, potentially making it challenging for them to match these prices.
The announcement has already sparked anticipation in the automotive sector. BYD’s shares saw a 16% increase following reports of the company’s plans. Wang Chuanfu believes that smart driving features will become as essential as seatbelts and airbags in cars, viewing BYD’s move as a contribution to the AI shift in China. The company has also integrated DeepSeek’s AI models into its Xuanji smart car architecture.
“As more and more people use smart driving, it will form a ‘flywheel effect’ on Chinese smart driving technology as the speed of data accumulation and iteration accelerates,” Wang explained. “I believe smart driving will become a new calling card for Chinese cars.”
($1 = 7.3060 Chinese yuan renminbi)
