By Jiahui Huang
BYD unveiled an autonomous-driving chip, as the Chinese automaker known for its wide range of competitively priced electric vehicles seeks a new growth driver in technology.
The company launched the Xuanji A3 chip, a 4 nanometer semiconductor for autonomous driving, late Thursday at its at its technology day in Shenzhen, China.
The chip has already entered mass production and is designed to support level 3 and level 4 autonomous driving, the company said, referring to cars that can handle all aspects of driving under specific conditions and cars capable of driving in specific areas without human intervention, respectively.
The launch marks BYD's latest effort to showcase its edge in technology as growth in China's EV market slows and pricing pressure weighs on profitability across the sector.
BYD also said it aims to invest more than 100 billion yuan, equivalent to $14.75 billion, in intelligent technology research and development over the next three years.
The total hardware cost of the new chip is roughly one-third of Nvidia's Thor-based solutions, Citi analysts wrote in a note, adding that it would ease the cost pressure of high-end intelligent-driving hardware.
As China's EV sales champion has faced many months of slowing demand in its home market and weaker profit in the first quarter, it has sharpened its focus on technology and overseas expansion.
BYD is working on making its advanced autonomous-driving technology more accessible for more models. The company said last year that would deploy its "God's Eye" driver-assistance system in its mass-market models.
At the event, BYD said buyers of cars equipped with certain versions of the "God's Eye" system would receive one year of full compensation for any losses arising from accidents during assisted-driving operations, including vehicle damage and third-party liability.
Citi viewed the move as significant because it effectively shifts part of the liability burden to the automaker from drivers under China's current level 2 assisted driving regulatory framework.
BYD's latest strategy could reshape competition across China's intelligent-driving supply chain and pressure rivals from EV startups to chipmakers and autonomous-driving technology providers, Citi added.
Still, analysts cautioned that BYD's technological progress would need to be validated over time through real-world performance.
Chinese EV makers including NIO, Li Auto and XPeng have also been developing their own autonomous-driving chips.
BYD's shares closed 1.1% higher in Hong Kong on Friday, outpacing the benchmark stock index's 0.7% gain.
Write to Jiahui Huang at jiahui.huang@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 29, 2026 05:15 ET (09:15 GMT)
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