Warren Buffett-Backed BYD Has Already Surged Past Tesla In Sales — Now It Has A $14B Game Plan For Making EVs More Intelligent

BYD Co Ltd BYDDF BYDDY, which recently surpassed Tesla Inc. TSLA in global EV sales, plans to invest over $14 billion (RMB 100 billion) in advancing vehicle intelligence and NEV evolution.

What Happened: BYD unveiled the Xuanji Architecture — a sophisticated structure that includes a central brain, cloud-based AI, vehicle-based AI, 5G network, satellite network, and various chains such as sensing, control, data, and mechanical, reported CnEVPost.

The company’s self-developed central brain is compatible with a variety of chips, allowing for computational power expansion via chip decoupling. Furthermore, BYD launched the Xuanji AI foundation model, Dilink intelligent cockpit, and an upgraded Dipilot smart driving system.

BYD’s chairman and CEO, Wang Chuanfu, disclosed the company’s commitment to invest $14 billion in vehicle intelligence but did not specify any timeline.

The Chinese company is backed by Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway Inc BRK BRK.

See Also: 5 Best Chinese Stocks Right Now

Wang underscored the strength of BYD’s smart driving team, which comprises over 4,000 members, including 3,000 software engineers. He also noted that the intelligent driving system will become standard on models priced over RMB 300,000.

BYD’s goal is to boost the proportion of vehicles equipped with smart driving systems, currently at 57%, and plans to unveil more than 10 LiDAR-equipped models in 2024.

Why It Matters: BYD last year outpaced Tesla in global EV sales. Tesla supporters assert that BYD’s sales are limited to low-priced battery EVs in China and that the company has yet to prove itself in Europe or North America. 

However, BYD’s new strategy could potentially change this narrative.

As Tesla faces a challenging year for its auto business, BYD’s announcement could be a strategic move to solidify its status in the EV market. 

As noted by Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, Tesla is both an auto and AI company — a view that even its CEO, Elon Musk, espouses as the EV giant’s business segments extend to in-house supercomputers, autonomous driving, and robotics. 

With its new investment plan, BYD appears to be heading down the same path.

Read Next: Tesla Earnings Around The Corner: As Stock Struggles, Analyst Highlights 3 Numbers That Matter

Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo via Shutterstock