Recently, the share of Xpeng and Geely, Chinese automakers, fell drastically. This fall happened after BYD announced that it would offer free smart driving features for almost all models.
Xpeng’s shares fell by 9.2% whereas Geely’s share fell by 11.4%. This is their biggest one-day percentage fall since October 2024. BYD announced that the company’s share recorded the rise of 4.5% to reach a high value which also dropped by 0.7%.
BYD announced its 21 models are available for sale. These models are designed with its “God’s Eye” advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). All these models are almost as same as Tesla’s autopilot feature. The affordable model, Seagull, with this smart feature, costs $9,555.
Founded in 1995, BYD is a globally renowned company known for manufacturing high-end electric vehicles, batteries, and other eco-friendly products. It is also a key player in offering the best discounts on its cars.
This move by BYD is special and important because it undercuts its rivals. The analyst said that this could initiate a new price battle in the already highly competitive EV market, just like the free-to-use Chinese AI app “Deepseek” shook the entire AI sector.
What’s Inside The “God’s Eye” system
This one-of-a-kind system offers many features like automated parking, lanekeeping, and autonomous driving on highways. However, the drivers must take control with their hands when required.
He Xiaopeng, founder of Xpeng, commented, “ We are glad to welcome the official future announcement by a top manufacturer. I truly respect its smart driving feature that will bring about the popularization of smart driving globally”.
John Zeng, an analyst at London-based consultancy Globaldata, shared that Xpeng and its employees are under extreme pressure. However, he also said that it would be hard for them to compete and match BYD’s pricing.
Leapmotor, a Chinese electric car manufacturer, replied to BYD’s announcement by launching a new electronic vehicle with smart driving features that cost under $20,529.
China has been facing a price war since 2023. This has led to foreign auto manufacturers having to rebuild their business operations and small start-up companies having to compete in this price war.
William Li, the founder of Nio, announced that the company will release new models every three months starting in April to beat BYD’s aggressive pricing strategy and feature offerings.
