BYD's Free Self-Driving Tech Might Not Be Such a Boon After All

Not only has China's largest EV maker BYD unveiled good, better, and best tiers for its advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS), it announced last week that the tech--marketed somewhat immodestly as "God's Eye"--will now be fitted as standard to 21 of BYD's 30 cars split across four brands. Even the 9,500 Seagull hatchback, the cheapest of BYD's EVs, will ship with the base level of God's Eye at no extra cost, while the 233,500 Yangwang U9 electric supercar will get the top-tier iteration. However, BYD's ADAS system could be as misleadingly named as Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD). Including ADAS for free will no doubt rile BYD's smaller rivals in China's innovative but cutthroat auto market. Comparatively low-tech Toyota, VW, and Nissan may weaken further, and Tesla--which has yet to gain permission for FSD in China--could also struggle.