BYD has unveiled its Xuanji A3 “smart driving” chip, which the company says is China’s first automotive-grade 4-nanometre chip for self-driving vehicles. BYD’s chairman and founder Wang Chuanfu announced the chip at a launch event at the company’s Shenzhen headquarters on 28 May, presenting it as a self-developed processor designed to reduce power consumption. BYD states the chip delivers about 20% lower power usage per unit of compute than comparable semiconductors.
Tech-focused reporting says the Xuanji A3 supports autonomous driving capability at levels L3 and L4 and that it is in mass production. Additional coverage describes BYD pairing the chip in a multi-chip configuration to achieve higher overall computing performance.
One outlet also links the chip rollout to BYD’s plans for a lower-priced vehicle equipped with LiDAR, reported as roughly $10,000. Across the reports, the common focus is BYD’s move to produce an advanced, smaller-process driving chip intended for higher automation vehicles.
