China Auto Daily丨BYD Makes Strides in Self-Driving Tech

China's Passenger Car Inventory Drops to 3.02 Million Units

Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the China Passenger Car Association, announced that as of the end of September 2024, China's passenger car inventory stood at 3.02 million units. This represents a decrease of 130,000 units from the previous month and a significant drop of 570,000 units compared to September 2023. The inventory is also 480,000 units lower than in September 2022.

Given current sales projections, the existing inventory is sufficient to support sales for the next 40 days. This figure is a notable decrease from the 47 days' worth of inventory in September 2022 and 50 days' worth in September 2023, indicating that the overall inventory pressure is not significant.

GAC Group Leads $298 Million Funding Round for Didi Autonomous Driving

On October 22, Didi Autonomous Driving completed its Series C funding round, raising $298 million. The financing was led by GAC Group, with additional investment from Didi itself. The funds will be allocated to advancing Didi's autonomous driving technology and accelerating the launch of its first Robotaxi production model.

Earlier this year, in April, Didi Autonomous Driving and GAC AION established a joint venture, Andi Technology (安滴科技), which has received official business registration. The joint venture aims to launch its first mass-produced L4 autonomous vehicle by 2025.

BYD Integrates Self-Driving Development Teams

On October 22, insiders revealed that BYD's Tianxuan (天璇) and Tianlang (天狼) development departments, responsible for in-house self-driving technology, have recently merged. The newly formed team aims to roll out BYD’s self-driving technology by mid-2025, featuring high-speed and urban intelligent navigation capabilities. The first models to benefit from this technology will be part of BYD’s high-end brand, YangWang.

XPeng Conducts Manned Test Flight for “Land Aircraft Carrier”

XPeng’s subsidiary XPENG AEROHT recently completed the first manned test flight of its “Land Aircraft Carrier.” Founder Zhao Deli initiated the "5000km Execs Test Flight" program. It is reported that XPENG AEROHT aims for a global public flight demonstration on the opening day of the Airshow China 2024 on November 12, 2024. The demonstration will showcase the autonomous separation and combination of its land and air vehicle modules.