BYD Doubles Down on Smart Driving, Dismisses Flying Car Rumours

BYD used a late December 2025 investor update to reaffirm its ambition to make advanced assisted driving a standard feature across its vehicle portfolio, while also responding to speculation around futuristic projects and recent growth pressures. 

The company confirmed it is continuing the full rollout of its God’s Eye smart driving system under its National Smart Driving strategy, which aims to take intelligent driving technology beyond premium models and into the mass market.

According to BYD, this large-scale deployment is supported by China’s most extensive vehicle cloud database, the world’s largest electric vehicle engineering team, and one of the biggest new energy vehicle manufacturing bases. 

As of November 2025, more than 2.3 million BYD vehicles in China were equipped with God’s Eye systems, including around 311,000 units sold in November alone. These vehicles collectively generate over 150 million kilometres of assisted driving data each day, allowing BYD to continuously improve algorithms without changing vehicle hardware.

God’s Eye follows a tiered structure. High-spec versions serve ultra-luxury and premium brands such as Yangwang and Denza, while more cost-effective variants are designed for BYD’s entry-level and mid-range models. 

Industry analysts note that this approach differs from competitors, which often limit advanced driver assistance features to higher-priced vehicles. By extending smart driving to affordable cars, BYD is accelerating adoption in major cities as well as emerging urban centres, where demand for intelligent mobility is growing rapidly.

Alongside its smart driving push, BYD moved to quash rumours that it was developing an electric flying car. The speculation emerged from viral social media posts and fabricated reports claiming test flights and overseas certifications. 

These claims were firmly denied by BYD’s brand and public relations head, Li Yunfei, who stated that the company has no such plans or arrangements. His comments followed a recent defamation case BYD won against online influencers spreading false information.

Looking ahead, BYD is expected to host a technology day in late February 2026 in China, potentially showcasing new concepts. This comes as sales growth has moderated in its homeland. Chairman Wang Chuanfu has acknowledged that BYD’s technological edge has narrowed, while signalling that major announcements are on the way, backed by the company’s 120,000 engineers.

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