Chinese EV giant BYD says self-driving tech is more valuable for factories than cars

SHANGHAI — Fully autonomous driving is “basically impossible” and the expertise could be higher utilized to manufacturing, in keeping with Chinese battery and electrical automobile firm BYD.

Many electrical automobile and tech firms are engaged on self-driving expertise. Using a type of the tech for helping drivers with parking and different duties is more and more a characteristic that Tesla and electrical automobile manufacturers in China are utilizing to draw patrons — with a watch on full autonomous driving.

But BYD, by far the biggest home vendor of electrical vehicles in China, has taken a distinct view.

“We think self-driving tech that’s fully separated from humans is very, very far away, and basically impossible,” Li Yunfei, a spokesperson for BYD, stated in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.

“When we think about [self-driving tech] from all aspects, from human psychological safety needs, from ethics, from regulation, from technology — including application in this industry — we haven’t figured out [the logic] and we think it is probably a false proposition,” Li instructed reporters on the sidelines of the Shanghai auto present on Tuesday.

“There may be many industries and businesses that invest a lot of money on this [tech], and after investing for many years it will prove it leads nowhere,” he stated.

Startups and established tech firms have labored for years in China to develop totally self-driving expertise. Some companies have gotten approval from native authorities in suburbs of Beijing, Shanghai and different cities to function self-driving taxis.

For private vehicles, totally self-driving automobiles aren’t but allowed on Chinese public roads.

BYD’s Li stated about 2 million folks get killed in visitors accidents annually, and in a totally self-driving situation it will be troublesome to pinpoint who’s at fault.

Developers of assisted driving expertise say its options — corresponding to clean braking when sensing a street impediment — might help make driving safer.

BYD additionally affords assisted driving expertise in some fashions. Earlier this month, the corporate introduced it will launch new shock absorption tech for its higher-end vehicles.

Despite elevated use of expertise in automobile factories, Li stated the ultimate meeting nonetheless depends on human staff.

He stated that in China, every manufacturing facility employee prices about 150,000 yuan a 12 months when contemplating month-to-month wages and advantages corresponding to an on-site dormitory the corporate has to construct.

Over 5 years, that is a price of 600,000 yuan to 700,000 yuan, he stated. As lengthy as the corporate should purchase automated tech for a similar value, it is worth is much better than being utilized in a automobile, Li stated. He identified how a machine would not must eat or sleep.

It’s not but clear, nevertheless, how a lot funding and tech analysis continues to be wanted to create robots that may carry out the intricate welding and different ultimate meeting duties.