BYD announces 'autopilot' for budget electric cars

The driving assistance function itself is not new, but it is usually installed only in expensive cars. Chinese automaker BYD has decided to break the tradition by introducing God's Eye package of intelligent functions even in budget models.

Electric cars of Ocean, Han, Song and Yuan series, as well as hybrid models will soon be equipped with proprietary driver assistance technologies. Their owners will have access to a variety of driving options, including remote parking using a smartphone and autonomous overtaking on roads. Some of these features are already available in the Seagull model, which costs just $9500 in China.

BYD representatives explained that the level of autonomy of a particular model will depend on the presence of certain sensors. For example, premium cars are equipped with LiDAR sensors, which provide faster and more accurate object detection than cameras alone, especially in low visibility conditions.