KEY POINTS

• BYD launched its AI-powered smart car system on Tuesday to better compete with rivals on advanced technologies such as automated parking.
• The firm said that the Xuanji system “perceives changes inside and outside the vehicle in milliseconds” thereby “enhancing driving safety and comfort.”
• The company plans to invest 5 billion Chinese yuan ($701.8 million) to build the world’s first all-terrain professional test drive sites in cities across China.

BYD on Tuesday unveiled an artificial intelligence-powered smart car system as the world’s largest electric car maker looks to better compete with rivals in advanced technologies such as self-parking.

The “Genki” smart car system “senses changes inside and outside the car within milliseconds” to “improve driving safety and comfort,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The architecture integrates big models of artificial intelligence with the industry’s largest data base, giving the Integrated Vehicle Intelligence System the ability to continuously adapt,” the company said in an X post on Wednesday.

Speaking at the Dream Day event on Tuesday, BYD Chairman and President Wang Chuanfu said the system will accelerate the transformation of the automotive industry.

BYD said it plans to invest 5 billion yuan ($701.8 million) to build the world’s first all-terrain professional test track in Chinese cities.

According to BYD’s microblog, the company was granted a conditional test permit for L3 autonomous driving on Shenzhen highways in July last year, making it the first auto company in China to receive such a permit.

L3 autonomous driving refers to conditional autonomous driving, where a human must be ready to take over within seconds.

The Shenzhen-listed shares of the Chinese electric-car giant fell more than 2 per cent on Wednesday, in contrast to a general decline in Chinese stocks.

Price wars and increased competition in China’s EV market have squeezed the profit margins of Chinese EV makers including BYD, Neo, Xinpeng and Li Auto.