Huawei and BYD Launch Financial Protection for ADAS-Related Accidents

Recently, Huawei’s subsidiary Yinwang announced an accident protection service for users of Huawei’s Qiankun ADS Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) premium feature package. The coverage applies to personal injury or property damage to the vehicle owner or third parties resulting from unexpected accidents that occur during normal use of the ADAS on lawful roads and within designated areas. On the same day, Huawei also adjusted the pricing of its ADS Max premium feature package. The standard one-time purchase price was restored from RMB 32,000 to RMB 36,000, while the effective price after combined subsidies from automakers increased from RMB 12,000 to RMB 15,000. Previously, on May 28, BYD announced a similar protection program for its urban navigation-assisted driving system. Users equipped with the "God’s Eye" A or B systems who are found at fault in traffic accidents occurring during compliant use of the urban navigation function will receive full compensation from BYD for direct economic losses—without any cap—and such claims will not be processed through the vehicle owner’s commercial auto insurance. However, eligibility requires users to either select or upgrade to the corresponding hardware: the "God’s Eye" C system now costs an additional RMB 12,000 (previously priced at RMB 9,900), while all vehicle models can alternatively opt for the "God’s Eye" B LiDAR version at RMB 12,000. Both companies’ protection plans explicitly limit coverage to financial compensation and do not extend to criminal liability or traffic violation demerit points arising from accidents. According to a guiding case issued by China’s Supreme People’s Court in February 2026, drivers remain legally recognized as the actual operators of vehicles even when ADAS features are engaged and thus bear corresponding legal responsibilities. These new protection measures come amid a significant gap between how L2-level driver assistance systems are marketed and how liability is legally defined. While automakers often emphasize “smart driving” capabilities in their promotions, user manuals universally state that these systems are merely assistive and require constant driver supervision. Currently, there is no industry-wide standard for what constitutes “advanced smart driving,” leading some consumers to mistakenly equate driver assistance with full autonomy. Legally, standards for assigning liability in L3 and higher levels of autonomous driving are still under development. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) granted its first batch of L3 access permits in December 2025 and launched a public consultation in June 2026 on the mandatory national standard titled “Safety Requirements for Automated Driving Systems in Intelligent Connected Vehicles.” However, during the transitional phase from L2 to L3, ambiguity remains regarding the allocation of accident liability. Huawei and BYD’s move to provide financial backstops marks a shift among certain automakers toward assuming risk themselves to address this uncertainty. Nevertheless, deeper issues—including how system defects are determined, how data is authenticated, and how criminal liability is assigned—remain unresolved.