Along with the electric car, research and development that gradually leads to autonomous driving is now one of the areas of work of many manufacturers. Almost all of them are working on it, in particular in cooperation with technical companies, but others also prefer to follow their path.

And among those who do not want to implement automated driving, is the Chinese manufacturer BYD. This is all the more surprising since Asian manufacturers are rightly known for the technology on board their cars.

At a conference held at the Shanghai Auto Show, Li Yunfei, a spokesman for BYD, said that for the Chinese firm, “Autonomous driving was fundamentally impossible”. According to the manufacturer, on the other hand, it is much more likely to find the application of this technology at modern automotive enterprises and even beyond them.

Introducing the BYD CHASER 07

Thanks to BYD’s Super Hybrid technology, it is the only plug-in hybrid sedan in its class with a range of up to 200 km (124 miles). pic.twitter.com/Dn0PXD7Gfb

— BYD (@BYDCompany) April 19, 2023

A delicate issue of responsibility

According to BYD, autonomous driving is most likely a “false promise”. Technology is completely separated from people “very, very remote and practically impossible to develop”.

For the Chinese manufacturer, the reason is simple and not necessarily directly related to technology. Indeed, BYD notes the impossibility of apportioning responsibility in the event of an accident. If a car is driving alone and runs into a pedestrian crossing at a crosswalk, whose fault is it? From the driver, even if he was not driving at the time? Or a car? But in the latter case, who is responsible? Designer?

There are still many questions

For these reasons BYD does not believe in this technologyalthough recently in China, the government has allowed some companies to use driverless taxis in some suburbs of Beijing and Shanghai.

But if that’s BYD’s position, many other automakers are firm believers in the technology. In particular, this applies to Tesla, which has made its Autopilot a real selling point, as well as Mercedes, which was one of the first manufacturers to offer cars equipped with Level 3 autonomous driving in the United States.