BYD's "God's Eye" driver assistance system is facing increasing criticism in China, raising doubts about whether the company has rushed to make advanced driving features a standard part of its lineup, Bloomberg reports. Shoppers are reporting problems such as unintended acceleration, sudden steering movements, navigation glitches, missed fare points and motorway exits, as well as other malfunctions, and complaints are spreading on Chinese social media.
This issue comes at a difficult time for BYD, as its sales dropped 36% in the first two months of the year, and the company lost leadership in the Chinese automotive market to Geely. In a broader context, this situation highlights the limitation of implementing complex semi-autonomous systems to eliminate all software flaws. BYD has touted the "Eye of God" as its main competitive advantage, offering the technology widely at no additional cost, even in low-cost cars, but analysts point out that there is a gap between hardware ambitions and software implementation. The system is also not the same for the entire model range: cheaper models feature more basic versions, while the most modern package remains for luxury cars.
Although BYD has equipped more than 2.5 million vehicles in China with the "God's Eye" system, analysts say that scale does not mean maturity. For many customers, the convenience of charging and power reserve are still more important than the superiority of autopilot systems.
