On the stage of embodied intelligence, a heavyweight player has emerged—BYD.

Likewise, Li Ke, Executive Vice President of BYD, stated in an interview with BYD Shareholder Planet’s “Guest Invitation” series that BYD is currently advancing its humanoid robot project.

In the interview, she emphasized that BYD’s current focus in robotics lies in industrial robots, and BYD itself is the largest user of these industrial robots. At the same time, BYD is also pushing forward the development of humanoid robots.

(Image source: BYD)

Li Ke noted that China's robotics industry “lacks a brain,” while American robots “have advanced brains but underdeveloped limbs.” BYD aims to solve this by developing truly usable robots with both a capable brain and robust limbs. Once such robots enter the market, BYD would be their largest buyer—deploying them in overseas stores as sales assistants to address labor shortages.

Regarding the manufacturing of humanoid robots, Li Ke said BYD doesn’t necessarily need to build them in-house. Instead, it will establish an open platform to develop proprietary robots or collaborate with other companies. Yet she also stressed that BYD’s marketing system is “the most powerful” and “most global,” backed by strong manufacturing capabilities and exceptional execution power.

This marks BYD’s first public disclosure of its humanoid robot business. Prior to this, BYD had already been deeply engaged in this field for four years.

According to a report from *Industrial Robotics*, BYD’s humanoid robot project, codenamed “Yao Shun Yu,” officially launched in 2022 under the 15th Business Division responsible for electronic integration and intelligent systems. Additionally, in BYD’s 2025 graduate recruitment for master’s and doctoral candidates, positions related to embodied intelligence research were listed, focusing on humanoid and bipedal robotics.

As a conglomerate spanning batteries, automobiles, electronics, and more, what advantages does BYD bring to the embodied intelligence sector? And how might this entry reshape the industry? Why are automakers now rushing into embodied intelligence?

What Has BYD Caught from Its Technological Fish Pond?

Upon learning that BYD is entering the embodied intelligence arena, some may question whether the company is straying from its core mission—focusing on car manufacturing—to venture into robotics.

Yet in reality, BYD’s journey into automotive manufacturing began as a cross-industry initiative.

Founded initially as a battery company, BYD started with R&D in nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries, later transitioning to lithium-ion batteries, supplying products to brands like Motorola and Nokia.

In 2003, BYD acquired Xi’an QinChuan Automobile Co., Ltd., marking its entry into the automotive industry. The BYD F3 was launched in 2005.

Typically, one might expect little overlap between battery and automotive businesses—each evolving independently.

But as history unfolded, BYD not only transformed its automotive ventures into a core business line, but also synergized them with its original battery expertise, growing both sectors in tandem.

(Image source: BYD)

Today, as the automotive industry enters the second half of its electric and intelligent competition, BYD continues to intensify its push toward intelligent technologies.

In 2024, Wang Chuanfu publicly stated that BYD had already established an intelligent driving team of 4,000 engineers. That same year, he announced a commitment of 100 billion yuan to advance AI-integrated automotive technologies, aiming for full vehicle intelligence transformation.

Entering the embodied intelligence space is thus one of BYD’s key strategic directions in its transition toward artificial intelligence.

Moreover, as a large-scale manufacturing conglomerate spanning batteries, vehicles, 3C, consumer electronics, and semiconductors, BYD possesses inherent advantages in robotic manufacturing—covering motors, motor control, batteries, processors, and even contract assembly.

Given this, can we still say BYD’s move into embodied intelligence is “distracting” from its core mission?

Furthermore, what BYD has revealed so far represents only a fraction of its true capabilities. The “technological fish pond” at BYD likely harbors many hidden gems.

In the earlier interview with BYD Shareholder Planet, Li Ke mentioned that once the fish in the pond grow big enough, they’ll be harvested and directly deployed on platforms—ready to “light up” immediately.

This illustrates BYD’s approach: rather than waiting for market demand before starting R&D, the company conducts pre-research first. When demand arises—either internally or externally—it quickly harvests the mature technologies from its “fish pond” and accelerates their application.

Recent public launches by BYD—such as Yun Nian, Tian Shen Zhi Yan, fifth-generation DM technology, and Flash Charging—are all tangible outcomes of this strategy.

So, in the domain of embodied intelligence, could BYD be about to pull out a “big fish” from its technological fish pond, delivering another signature shock to the industry?

Based on BYD’s modus operandi, Dianche Tong (ID: dianchetong233) speculates that BYD might indeed be brewing something massive in the humanoid robotics space.

New Energy Automakers Are Embracing Humanoid Robots

Besides BYD, numerous new energy automakers have already initiated R&D in humanoid robotics, with some unveiling concrete results.

Tesla, the earliest entrant, began mass production of its third-generation humanoid robot, Optimus Gen-3, at its Fremont factory in California in May.

(Image source: Tesla)

According to media reports, just before the initial batch of Optimus Gen-3 units went into production, 50 units were already delivered to Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory in April. These robots handle four tasks: seat installation, interior assembly, component handling, and quality inspection—with efficiency reaching 85% of human levels and continuous operation lasting up to 10 hours.

In China’s new energy vehicle sector, Xpeng’s first humanoid robot, IRON, was officially unveiled during Xpeng’s 2025 Technology Day.

In the group’s Q1 financial report, Xpeng announced that the next-generation IRON, designed for mass production, will debut in Q3 this year, with the goal of achieving high-end humanoid robot mass production by year-end. Initial trials will begin in Xpeng stores, with customer deliveries scheduled for next year.

He Xiaopeng stated: “Starting next year, hardware revenue and AI model revenue from humanoid robots will become one of the key drivers for growth in Xpeng Group’s revenue and gross profit.”

Li Auto’s humanoid robot project is also progressing. In January, Li Xiang officially announced the company’s entry into the humanoid robotics field, aiming to complete the product’s debut and real-world application as soon as possible.

In March, according to media outlet Yijian Auto, Li Auto’s humanoid robot team, codenamed “Nexus,” has been secretly developing products for nearly a year, planning two models: a two-wheeled robot for factory use and a bipedal robot. The two-wheeled version is expected to be publicly unveiled this year.

Li Xiang also shared in a podcast interview with Luo Yonghao that “embodied intelligence has two phases—autonomous driving is the first half, while general-purpose humanoid robots represent the second half.”

Thus, while automakers have just completed the “first half” of their electric transformation, they are now stepping into the “second half” of intelligent advancement—and some brands have already begun laying groundwork for the “next phase” of embodied intelligence.

The New Arms Race: From ADAS to Chips to Robotics

With BYD, Tesla, Xpeng, and Li Auto all entering the humanoid robotics arena, competition among new energy vehicles has expanded into a new domain.

From earlier years when automakers competed on charging speed, range, and energy efficiency, to recent years focused on ADAS, in-house chip development, and in-car large language models, the cycle of technological competition is shortening, while intensity is escalating.

This suggests that future competition in the automotive industry may turn into a brutal elimination race—companies lacking technological depth, or those lagging behind technological trends, will be ruthlessly phased out.

Moreover, this time, the competition has crossed industry boundaries into the realm of embodied intelligence. How will this impact existing players in the robotics sector? Could some robot brands collapse under pressure from the automotive industry?

The future battle may be fierce. Wishing all participants good luck.

Source: 36Kr