BYD showcased its self-driving car strategy at an event on Monday. The China EV stock rose within a buy zone after breaking out last week. Tesla slid further below key levels.
The Chinese EV giant will offer advanced autonomous driving features across almost its entire electric-vehicle lineup, from high-end models to three models under RMB 100,000 (around $13,700). That includes the Seagull, a small and cheap electric hatchback, priced around RMB 69,800 (less than $10,000).
BYD started sales of those EV models, 21 in total, immediately after the event, Reuters said, with analysts forecasting the move will set off the next bout of an ongoing price war. Most of those models are getting the advanced driver-assist systems without price increases.
In the next two to three years, advanced smart driving capabilities will become as essential as seat belts and air bags, CnEVPost.com quoted BYD chairman and president Wang Chuanfu as saying on Monday.
Other reports on Monday said BYD's proprietary "intelligent driving system" — dubbed Eye of God — will offer three levels of advanced driving features, such as highly autonomous highway and city navigation. BYD is said to be using Nvidia's Orin chips for the Eye of God system.
The U.S. chip giant had announced in March 2023 that BYD would expand the use of Nvidia Orin chips "across the multiple models in its next-generation Dynasty and Ocean series of vehicles," without specifying a timeline. The more affordable and bestselling Ocean series includes the Seagull.
Further, BYD plans to use Nvidia's AI (artificial intelligence) infrastructure for cloud-based development and training models, according to the U.S. chipmaker.
Monday's event took at BYD's Shenzhen headquarters. Investors continue to await a cheaper Tesla car.
BYD, the world's largest EV maker, has generally been seen as a laggard in driver-assistance systems. But it is spending massively to catch up. BYD introduced Level 2 driver-assistance systems to its premium brands and some higher-end BYD models. Rolling that out to much-cheaper EVs could be a big selling point and enhance the brand.
In 2022, Warren Buffett-backed BYD began exclusively producing battery electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. Its unrivaled scale and ability to underprice rivals, including Tesla, have led to rapid growth.
BYD Stock, Other EV Stocks
U.S.-traded shares of BYD soared 20% in last week's stock market action, in anticipation of Monday's smart-car event, topping a 42 buy point from an 18-week consolidation, according to MarketSurge charts.
The China EV stock rose 3.3% to 43.48 on Monday, rising with the buy zone, which runs to 44.10. BYD stock is just below its all-time high of 43.61 set in June 2022.
The relative strength line has bolted higher but remains just below the consolidation peak on a daily chart. On a weekly chart, BYD's RS line hit a 52-week high late last week.
Tesla stock shed 3% on Monday extending its slump below the 50-day average. Shares hit a fresh a 2025 low before paring losses.
XPeng stock gave up 1.7%, backing off from a 52-week high last week. Shares are extended from a January double-bottom breakout past a 14.66 buy point. That means shares are not in a proper buy range.
Nvidia stock gained 2.9% on Monday, just below the 50-day line.
Tesla, XPeng At Forefront of Autonomous Driving
Tesla's Autopilot took an early lead in driver-assist software. Tesla is working to get Full Self Driving, still a Level 2 system, approved in China. Elon Musk said he expects the first unsupervised, paid robotaxi rides to begin in Austin this June, but he's made bullish forecasts about self driving for a decade.
Startup rival XPeng is seen in the forefront of autonomous driving as well. Last May, XPeng claimed to be first with an AI-powered car driving system. It promised to bring artificial intelligence features to the P7 model, and eventually to its new Mona brand of cheaper electric cars.
XPeng said last week that it aims to introduce Level 3 self-driving this year. L3 means a car can drive itself under certain conditions without a human driver needing to pay attention at all times.
For January, XPeng reported strong EV sales amid the seasonally slow Chinese New Year season. Investors continue to weigh the impact of new Trump tariffs on China stocks at large.
Buffett's BYD Breaking Sales Records As It Expands Overseas
According to a CleanTechnica report, BYD vaulted six spots up the global sales charts in 2024 to become the third bestselling auto brand. The Chinese EV and battery giant jumped above Honda, Ford, Nissan and Chevrolet in the sales ranks. In terms of auto groups, BYD is the seventh largest, but could move up a couple of spots this year.
In January, BYD posted record overseas EV sales, including a 550% surge in the U.K., where it outsold Tesla just two years after entering that market. BYD's overseas expansion continues to gather steam, on the back of more models as well as greatly expanded export logistics as well as overseas plants.
Tesla is refreshing the Model Y for global markets, with deliveries set to start in March.
An "affordable" EV is set to start production by midyear, though Tesla still hasn't released any images. Actual deliveries of the cheaper EV might not happen until late in the year.
Last year Wednesday, Ford guided to a tougher 2025, though Ford is growing EV sales and reducing EV losses. Legacy makers are shifting to electric vehicles. Ford stock edged lower Monday, extending February's losses to a fresh three-year low.
Please follow Aparna Narayanan on X @IBD_Aparna for more coverage.
