The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD achieved its highest stock price ever on Wednesday after partnering with AI firm DeepSeek which made it a stronger competitor against Tesla. The new partnership represents a major departure for BYD because it enables self-driving technology to reach all vehicles in their product lineup.
On Monday Wang Chuanfu the founder of BYD declared that the company intends to turn autonomous driving from a premium option into a standard safety feature. The company has taken a different approach to self-driving technology compared to its former reserved behavior. The introduction of “God’s Eye” AI system by the company will enter the market through vehicles priced at 69,800 yuan (€9,200) and below thus making advanced driving assistance features accessible to a wider customer base.
The combination of DeepSeek’s AI software will improve BYD’s autonomous systems and enable a state-of-the-art voice-activated interface. The experts believe that BYD will emerge as a major player in the AI-driven automotive market through this integration which competes against Geely and Great Wall Motor and Leapmotor who show interest in DeepSeek technology.
The AI startup DeepSeek became a market disruptor during early 2023 by developing software that functions with less computing requirements than American counterparts. The rise of DeepSeek has faced criticism because OpenAI claims the company obtained its data through improper means to train AI models.
The quick development of AI-powered automobiles faces important regulatory barriers as a primary obstacle. The Chinese regulatory authority has not yet granted Tesla permission to introduce fully autonomous vehicles despite its position as the top company in autonomous driving technology.
The share prices of BYD rose to their highest point at ¥346.83 (€2.18) at 2:25 PM (China time) indicating that investors believed in the company’s AI-driven path.