Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD said on Wednesday it will assume full responsibility for any losses incurred by users of its Level 4 (L4) intelligent parking feature in China, marking a first-of-its-kind commitment in the country’s auto industry.
The pledge applies to all BYD vehicles equipped with its “God’s Eye” intelligent driving system and reflects the company’s confidence in its autonomous parking technology. “In the Chinese market, we assume full responsibility for the safety and losses of all users of vehicles equipped with God’s Eye in intelligent parking scenarios,” BYD said in a post on Weibo.
Level 4 autonomous driving, as defined by international standards, refers to systems capable of operating without human intervention under specific conditions. BYD said it had achieved this level of capability for intelligent parking, adding that the feature would allow users to bypass the traditional insurance claims process in the event of a malfunction or accident.
BYD highlighted that users would benefit from not seeing an increase in next year’s insurance premiums as a result of incidents related to the system. The company said its confidence in taking full liability is backed by access to China’s largest smart driving vehicle cloud database, the world’s largest team of autonomous driving R&D engineers, and the largest production system for new energy vehicles.
More than 1 million vehicles are currently equipped with the God’s Eye system, according to the company. In addition, BYD announced plans to launch its most extensive over-the-air (OTA) update to date, covering enhancements to over a dozen functions related to parking, driving, and safety.
The move follows similar efforts from competitors such as Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV), which earlier this year introduced a compensation program for accidents involving its NGP (Navigation Guided Pilot) function. However, Xpeng’s plan requires a paid subscription and caps compensation at RMB 1 million.
BYD’s decision to shoulder liability without additional user costs sets a new precedent in the growing intelligent driving sector, as automakers seek to differentiate through technological assurance and after-sales commitments.
