BYD will invest RMB 100 billion in vehicle intelligence in the future to lead the way in NEV development, the company's chairman said.

BYD will invest RMB 100 billion ($14 billion) in vehicle intelligence in the future to lead the way for new energy vehicles (NEVs), said the company's chairman Wang Chuanfu, without mentioning how many years these investments will span.

Xuanji Architecture, e-Platform 3.0, DiSus vehicle body control system, and e⁴ technology platform are all part of BYD's vehicle intelligence technologies.

BYD currently has a smart driving team of more than 4,000 people, with more than 3,000 being software engineers, according to Wang.

BYD recruited over 30,000 fresh college graduates in 2023, a talent resource that was previously unavailable, he said.

In the future, BYD's high-level intelligent driving system will come standard on its models priced over RMB 300,000, while models priced between RMB 200,000 and RMB 300,000 offer paid options.

To date, BYD vehicles equipped with the L2 smart driving systems have surpassed 2.6 million units.

More than 57 percent of BYD's vehicles sold in 2023 are equipped with the smart driving systems, and this percentage will further increase in 2024, according to Wang.

BYD will launch more than 10 LiDAR-equipped models in 2024, he said.

BYD already has an in-depth layout for more advanced L3 smart driving, and became the first Chinese car company to receive an L3 test license in July 2023, Wang said.

BYD has previously been conservative in its marketing of smart-driving technology, announcing that progress only on December 27, even though it received the license in July.

($1 = RMB 7.1911)

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