BYD has announced that the price of its advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) called «God’s Eye B», which is based on lidars, will rise from 9,900 yuan ($1,400) to 12,000 yuan ($1,660). The change affects selected models from the Dynasty, Ocean series, and the Fang Cheng Bao sub-brand. The new prices will come into effect on May 1, 2026. Those who make a deposit by the end of April will still be able to catch the last chance at the old price.
What's the deal with memory chips?
Modern autopilot is not just cameras and software. The system uses lidars that generate colossal amounts of data, known as «point clouds». To process them in real-time, ultrafast DRAM memory and NAND storages are required. According to the Sina portal, global spending on chips for data storage and processing has skyrocketed. All the available semiconductor resources are now being absorbed by data centers for AI training, leaving the automotive industry on short supply. In the first quarter of 2026, contract prices for DRAM jumped by almost 90%, directly affecting the cost of electronic control units.
Consequences for the industry
This is one of the first cases where the increased cost of semiconductors is directly reflected in the price of additional options, rather than being absorbed into the overall car price. TrendForce analysts note that memory market volatility has become a more serious challenge for the automotive industry than lithium price fluctuations for batteries. While AI infrastructure continues to scale, prices for high-tech equipment will remain high at least until 2027.
Scale and data
For BYD, this is a critical issue. As of March 2026, the «God’s Eye» system has been installed on over 2.85 million vehicles. This is an invaluable resource for training algorithms, but it requires huge processing and storage capacities directly on the vehicle.
