BYD's Unprecedented Self-Driving Liability Coincides with Malaysian Launch and AGM Showdown

BYD offers unlimited liability for autonomous driving, mass-produces 4nm chip, and launches Atto 3 Evo in Malaysia before import regulation—stock near 52-week low.

BYD is deploying a multi-pronged offensive that spans a cutting-edge in-house chip, an unlimited liability guarantee for autonomous driving and a carefully timed product launch in Southeast Asia — all ahead of its annual general meeting in Shenzhen on June 9. The stock, however, remains near its 52-week low, reflecting the deep chasm between the company's technological ambition and the harsh reality of a shrinking domestic market.

A Self-Made Chip and a No-Cap Promise

The most striking element of BYD's recent moves is a promise no other automaker — not even Tesla — has matched. Starting immediately, BYD assumes full financial responsibility for accidents caused by its urban God's Eye system, with no cap on liability. The cover applies to the God's Eye A and B packages, runs for one year from vehicle delivery and includes repair costs, third-party property damage and personal injury. It transfers with the vehicle and existing owners receive it via an over-the-air update to God's Eye 5.0.

The logic is data-driven. When BYD rolled out a similar guarantee for automatic parking in July 2025, actual usage jumped from 21% to 93%. The company is betting the same trick will accelerate adoption of city-level autonomous driving.

Underpinning the system is the Xuanji A3 processor — China's first 4-nanometer automotive chip now in mass production. Each unit delivers 700 TOPS of computing power, and three chips together hit 2,100 TOPS, enough for Level 3 and Level 4 functions. Citi estimates the whole system costs about one-third the price of Nvidia's Thor. BYD passes those savings directly to customers: the God's Eye system with LiDAR is priced at roughly $1,770, well below rival solutions.

The chip is part of a bigger architecture that includes BYD's own algorithms, the God's Eye platform and the Xuanji vehicle control system. The company says it is the only automaker in the world that controls the entire autonomous-driving supply chain.

Atto 3 Evo: Racing Malaysia's Import Deadline

While the technology story grabs headlines, a more immediate commercial push is underway in Malaysia. BYD has opened orders for the facelifted Atto 3, offering two versions — the front-wheel-drive Ultra and the rear-wheel-drive Evo, the latter originally developed for Europe. The Evo produces 313 hp, sprints from 0-100 km/h in 5.5 seconds and boasts a WLTP range of 510 kilometres from a 74.8 kWh battery that charges from 10% to 80% in 25 minutes at 220 kW. The Ultra delivers 204 hp, 60.48 kWh and 420 km of range. Both variants get upgraded charging performance, and the Evo comes with Google services as standard.

The timing is no coincidence. On July 1, Malaysia introduces a new electric-vehicle regulation requiring fully imported cars to cost at least 300,000 ringgit (around $64,000). The current Atto 3 batch still clears that threshold, giving BYD a temporary price advantage. The company hopes to exhaust those stocks before its local assembly (CKD) operation ramps up, effectively sidestepping the restriction.

Dividends, Guarantees and a Slumping Home Market

At the June 9 AGM in Shenzhen, shareholders will vote on a final dividend of 0.358 renminbi per share for 2025, worth about 3.3 billion renminbi in total. The ex-dividend date is June 11, with payment due by July 31. Also on the agenda: authorisation for a guarantee framework of up to 150 billion renminbi for subsidiaries — a signal that BYD's expansionary financing strategy remains intact — and the appointment of Ernst & Young Hua Ming as auditor for 2026.

The corporate governance items come against a grim first-quarter backdrop. Net profit tumbled 55% to 4.09 billion yuan, while revenue fell 12% to 150.2 billion yuan. A brutal price war in China and a stronger yuan squeezed margins. In May, BYD ended eight consecutive months of falling total sales, delivering 383,453 vehicles globally — a 0.3% year-on-year increase. But the recovery is lopsided. Exports surged 80.7% to more than 160,000 units, while domestic sales dropped 24%, marking the 13th straight monthly decline in China.

BYD still expects full-year sales to grow 13% and targets 1.3 million to 1.6 million international deliveries. Many Chinese buyers appear to be waiting for new models with upgraded battery and charging technology.

Stock Near Low, Analyst Consensus Bullish

The H-share closed on Thursday at €10.07, just 5.9% above its 52-week low of €9.51. The stock has lost 8.1% since the start of the year and more than 78% over the past twelve months. Despite the slide, 26 of 27 analysts rate it a buy. They see export growth as the strongest catalyst and domestic margin pressure as the biggest risk.

The AGM on Monday may offer some clarity on how BYD intends to bridge the gap between its technological breakthroughs and the earnings slump. Whether the promise of an unlimited liability shield and a home-grown chip can rekindle investor confidence is a question that will take more than a shareholder vote to answer.