BYD Deploys Humanoid Robots and Supercharges ADAS Rollout as Quarterly Profit Slumps 55%

Despite a sharp Q1 profit decline, BYD accelerates into humanoid robots (Yao-Shun-Yu) and God's Eye driver-assistance, with new models and a 71% export surge.

BYD is fighting on two fronts. First-quarter net profit collapsed by 55% to 4.09 billion yuan from 9.15 billion yuan a year earlier, while revenue slipped nearly 12% to 150.23 billion yuan. Rather than retreat, the Chinese electric-vehicle giant is accelerating into both humanoid robotics and next-generation driver-assistance software — fields it hopes will offset deepening margin pressure in its home market.

The company will begin deploying its seventh-generation humanoid robot, named Yao-Shun-Yu, in its own 4S dealerships from May 2026, where it will greet and advise customers. A second phase targets the home, with the robot capable of cleaning, cooking and keeping people company. The move comes as rival XPeng also pushes into robotics: CEO He Xiaopeng announced that its IRON robot will enter series production by end-2026 and start working as sales assistants in XPeng stores from the first quarter of 2027, backed by a 7 billion yuan AI R&D budget for the year.

On May 28, BYD will hold a strategy conference on intelligent driving alongside the launch of the Song Ultra DM-i plug-in hybrid. The event is expected to detail the broader rollout of the firm’s God’s Eye driver-assistance system, which is already active on nearly three million vehicles and collects over 190 million kilometers of usable driving data each day. The system comes in three tiers: the premium God’s Eye A reserved for the Yangwang luxury brand, with variants B and C covering the Dynasty, Ocean, Denza and Fang Cheng Bao lineups. BYD unveiled God’s Eye 5.0 earlier this year as its flagship software, and the conference may also reveal new AI training systems for driver-assist functions.

The product offensive began this week with the 2026 Sealion 06 DM-i, now on sale in four variants priced between the equivalent of 17,000 and 21,000 euros. It uses BYD’s fifth-generation DM hybrid system, offering a pure-electric range of 310 kilometers under the CLTC standard and fuel consumption of 3.3 liters per 100 kilometers when the battery is depleted. Combined range reaches nearly 1,850 kilometers. An optional God’s Eye B (DiPilot 300) system enables automated driving on city streets and highways, traffic-light recognition with countdown, and roundabout navigation. The model sold nearly 19,650 units in April, up 7.7% from March.

The Song Ultra DM-i arriving on May 28 is a midsize plug-in hybrid SUV with a length of 4,850 millimeters and a wheelbase of 2,840 millimeters. Buyers can choose between a 26.6 kWh battery providing 205 kilometers of electric range and a 38 kWh pack offering 310 kilometers, both paired with the fifth-generation DM technology. The pure-electric Song Ultra EV launched in March at prices starting from around 20,000 euros.

While the domestic market faces pricing pressure, exports are surging. In April, BYD shipped more than 134,500 passenger cars and pickups abroad, a year-on-year jump of nearly 71%. The group has set a full-year global delivery target of 5 million to 5.5 million vehicles for 2026, implying growth of up to 20% from the 4.6 million units it sold in 2025 — a tally that already placed it sixth among the world’s largest automakers. Yet its H-shares trade at 93.65 Hong Kong dollars, far below the 52-week high of 154.33 HKD.

The May 28 conference will test whether BYD can convince investors that software and robotics can become meaningful profit drivers. The company is betting that concrete details on its ADAS roadmap — and the first robots rolling into showrooms — will help close the valuation gap left by its steep earnings decline.