BYD Launches City NOA with Safety Guarantee and Unveils In-House 4nm ADAS Chip

On May 28, 2024, BYD announced a comprehensive safety liability guarantee for its City Navigation Pilot (urban NOA) driving assistance feature. Starting immediately and valid for one year, BYD will fully cover direct economic losses resulting from at-fault accidents that occur while users are properly utilizing the City Navigation Pilot function—regardless of whether they drive newly purchased vehicles equipped with the “God’s Eye” A or B versions or existing owners who have upgraded their systems to version 5.0 via OTA. This coverage comes with no payout cap, incurs no additional fees, and will not affect the policyholder’s commercial insurance premium in the following year. Previously, BYD had already implemented a similar liability guarantee for its intelligent parking feature, thereby establishing a “dual guarantee” mechanism covering both core scenarios: parking and driving. This initiative shifts the primary liability for intelligent driving accidents from users and insurers directly onto the automaker itself—a stark contrast to the industry norm, where users typically must pay extra for smart-driving insurance policies that impose deductibles and payout limits. On the same day, BYD unveiled its self-developed automotive-grade intelligent driving chip, the “Xuanji A3.” Built on a 4nm process, three Xuanji A3 chips work in concert to deliver over 2,100 TOPS of computing power, with 20% lower power consumption per unit of compute compared to competing products. The chip has already entered mass production and is specifically optimized for BYD’s proprietary algorithms, reportedly doubling computational utilization efficiency. It is also designed to support future L3/L4 autonomous driving production requirements. BYD stated that its fleet of vehicles equipped with advanced driver-assistance systems exceeds 3.15 million units, generating over 200 million kilometers of driving data daily. Its ADAS R&D team comprises more than 5,000 engineers. Leveraging economies of scale and full-stack in-house development capabilities, the company plans to offer high-end urban navigation pilot functionality across its entire vehicle lineup at an affordable optional price, accelerating widespread adoption. This strategic move encompasses foundational elements including chips, electronic/electrical architecture, algorithms, and user interaction systems. By controlling hardware costs, democratizing advanced features, and assuming clear liability, BYD aims to build a closed loop of user trust, boost real-world usage rates of intelligent driving functions, and shift industry competition away from mere specification comparisons toward accountability and user experience.