Chinese automotive giant BYD has taken a groundbreaking step to solidify its leadership in the electric vehicle market with smart technologies. The company officially announced its new policy, which will directly compete with Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. This new strategy appears poised to completely change the balance in the autonomous driving world, both with its incredible price advantage and its industry-first legal liability guarantee.
The manufacturer now bears the cost of the accident.
The biggest grey area in intelligent driving assistance systems to date has been determining who is responsible for accidents that occur while the system is active. While manufacturers generally place all legal responsibility on the driver, BYD is completely breaking this rule with its safe autonomous driving software.
According to the company's statement, drivers using the new intelligent driving package called "God's Eye B" will be exempt from all accidents that occur while the system is active, as long as they comply with the rules. BYD will directly cover all material damages, damages to third parties, and injury costs resulting from accidents caused by negligence that occur while the city autopilot and advanced automatic parking systems are active. Moreover, there is no upper limit on the payment for this coverage, and drivers' existing no-claims discounts on comprehensive insurance are not affected.
Autonomous Driving Package for One-Fifth of Tesla FSD Price
What makes BYD's move truly aggressive is its budget-friendly pricing strategy. This advanced hardware and software package, supported by LiDAR sensors, is being offered in the Chinese market for a one-time fee of only 12.000 Yuan (approximately $1.800).
While Tesla's FSD package, promising similar features in the same market, is priced at 64.000 Yuan (approximately $9.400), Huawei's ADS Max system sells for around 36.000 Yuan. BYD, offering a fully autonomous driving experience and accident insurance at almost a fifth of Tesla's price, aims to make the technology more accessible. The company states that it relies on its massive data pool from over 3 million vehicles on the road, and plans to increase the adoption rate of smart systems to over 90% with this move.
