BYD, the Chinese Electric Car Manufacturer Founded in 2003 and Based in Shenzhen, is Currently a Leading Contender in the Global Automotive Market. In the Fourth Quarter of Last Year, BYD Surpassed Long-Time Rival Tesla for the First Time in Terms of Car Deliveries.

While BYD delivered a total of 525,409 electric cars between October and December 2020, Tesla was able to deliver only 484,507 vehicles. With the ambition to also take over the global leadership in the electric car sector from Tesla on an annual basis, BYD has intensified its expansion strategy. In addition to announcing the construction of the first European production facility in Hungary and the opening of BYD dealerships in Germany, the company has now announced another groundbreaking investment.

At its "Dream Day 2024" at the global headquarters in Shenzhen, BYD announced that it will be investing a total of 14 billion US dollars in Smart Car technology. This investment is intended primarily for the development of software for autonomous driving and driver assistance systems.

The announcement was received with great attention in the electric car industry and shows that BYD is serious about its ambitions to overtake competitor Tesla.

As part of the "Dream Day," BYD has also presented its strategy for integrated vehicle intelligence and introduced the so-called "XUANJI" architecture for intelligent New Energy Vehicles (NEV). The goal of this strategy is to enhance advanced driver assistance systems and thus score points both in China and on the global market.

For BYD's founder and CEO, Wang Chuanfu, these systems are of great importance. "Integrated vehicle intelligence will determine the future of the automotive industry and accelerate the transformation," "Teslarati" quotes from Chuanfu's speech at the "Dream Day".

The upcoming intelligent NEVs from BYD will be powered by the XUANJI architecture, which serves as a central intelligence and neural network. Additionally, the company has introduced the XUANJI AI Large Model, a multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) for vehicles. Furthermore, BYD will launch the "Navigate on Autopilot" program, an advanced driver-assistance system that allows the driver to let go of the steering wheel and pedals in certain situations.

However, the system requires the driver to touch the steering wheel every 15 seconds for safety reasons. These advanced driver assistance systems are already included in the high-end BYD model Denza N7 EV and will soon be available in all BYD Smart vehicles priced over 300,000 Chinese Yuan (about 39,000 Euro). For all BYD Smart vehicles costing more than 200,000 Chinese Yuan (about 26,000 Euro), the ADAS systems can also be purchased as an additional extra.

With This Offensive in the Smart Car Sector, BYD Increases Pressure on Competitor Tesla, Whose Full-Self-Driving (FSD) Technology Has Been Causing Regular Problems for Years. However, Analysts Have Recently Been Cautious, Doubting BYD's Further Growth.

According to some experts, the company is struggling to maintain its growth. For instance, Morgan Stanley professionals expect that BYD will face significant headwinds in 2024 and will need to update its lineup or launch more competitive models. Some analysts also express concerns about the success of BYD's Smart Cars and see the Alliance for Intelligent Connected Vehicles, led by Huawei, as strong competition for BYD.

Yet, BYD is well-equipped with its billion-dollar investments in smart car technology and could continue to expand its growth. In the third quarter of last year, the company recorded a record profit of 10.41 billion Chinese yuan (about 1.35 billion euros). However, it remains to be seen whether BYD will be successful in the competitive smart car market in the long term.