BYD, China’s leading electric vehicle (EV) maker, is a dominant player in the domestic market and is even competing directly with Tesla internationally. In a company livestream yesterday, founder Wang Zhuifu announced that BYD plans to equip all of its models with self-driving capabilities, including its cheapest models like the $9,600 Seagull hatchback.
BYD is “opening an era of autonomous driving for everyone,” the CEO said, adding that autonomous vehicles will “no longer be an out-of-reach luxury, but an essential tool.” The Chinese automaker plans to integrate its self-developed “God’s Eye” autonomous driving system into all future models. God’s Eye uses cameras and radar sensors to perform tasks such as automatic parking, automatic emergency braking, and adaptive cruise control with high precision in real time.

BYD is also working with other Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers such as Geely, Great Wall Motor, and Leapmotor to integrate DeepSeek's AI into their autonomous driving systems. However, there is no specific information on when this will happen. Of course, whether BYD can deliver on its promise of affordable self-driving technology remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Tesla has struggled to roll out its self-driving software in China, so whether BYD can surpass Tesla will be a battle worth watching.