AI Smart Car Tech Revealed by Leading Electric Vehicle Maker

Chinese automaker BYD has laid out its master plan to become one of the world’s leaders in smart car tech. 

The company, which late last year overtook Tesla to become the biggest producer of electric cars globally, presented its vision for the future at the 2024 Dream Day event in Shenzhen.

Amid a flurry of announcements, BYD revealed its new AI-powered Xuanji architecture as part of its Integrated Vehicle Intelligence strategy, which the company believes will be a game changer for the auto industry.

According to BYD, the strategy “reshapes the concept of vehicle intelligence by considering the car in its entirety.”

The architecture, which has been developed in-house by more than 4,000 BYD engineers – around 1,000 working on algorithms and hardware and 3,000 on software – is described by the company as serving as “both the brain and neural network of the vehicle.”

This allows it to perceive changes both inside and outside in milliseconds, and will play a key role in delivering more advanced automated driving capability, due to the central brain’s ability to “quickly adjust the state of the vehicle, actively enhancing driving safety and comfort.”

Integrated into the architecture is the Xuanji AI Large Model, which BYD says possesses the largest data foundation in the industry, endowing the tech with the capacity for continuous adaptation.

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According to BYD’s chairman and president Wang Chuanfu, the arrival of the tech could be a watershed moment.

“Integrated Vehicle Intelligence is set to steer the future direction of vehicular intelligence and to accelerate the transformation of the automotive industry,” he said. 

Ultimately, BYD aims to build on the success it’s had in the EV arena by rolling out more advanced “intelligent” functionality in cars at a competitive price to customers globally.

Dream Day was also used by BYD to provide several other updates.

The company confirmed that it plans to launch more than 10 models with lidar-enabled hands-off Navigation on Autopilot tech in China through 2024. It’s promised to be standard equipment on cars costing more than $42,000 and optional on those priced in excess of $28,000.

And intriguingly, it also showcased what was hailed as the world’s first vehicle-integrated unmanned aircraft system, developed in tandem with Chinese drone manufacturer DJI.

A U8 luxury SUV from high-end BYD sub-brand Yangwang was shown with a drone bay on its roof that would facilitate take-off and landing with one click.