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.
“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.
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.
Deutsche Bank also said BYD would maintain its stable profit, despite not raising prices after adding autonomous driving features, thanks to cost declines in components and batteries.
Nomura raised its price target for BYD to HK$375 from HK$305 on Tuesday.
BYD’s shift to autonomous driving, amid fierce competition between China’s EV makers, is also expected to make the technology more popular in the country.
“Looking ahead, we expect more Chinese local automakers to follow suit and offer low-cost autonomous driving solutions and features in 2025,” Wang Bin, a Deutsche Bank analyst, said in the report.
Shenzhen-listed Chongqing Changan Automobile held an event on Sunday to unveil its EV brand Deepal’s smart driving solutions. The company said it would equip its S07 SUV, L07 sedans, and S05 SUV with its Deepal AD Pro intelligent driving solution.
Geely Automobile Holdings, which owns Volvo, introduced its “full-domain AI for smart vehicles” system at the CES 2025 trade show in Las Vegas last month.
