BYD Plans to Deploy Robot Sales Advisors in Every Store, Advances In-House Humanoid and Industrial Robots

Li Ke, Executive Vice President of BYD, stated that the company aims to deploy two to three robots in each BYD showroom in the future to introduce and demonstrate vehicles to customers and enliven the atmosphere. She anticipates that robot sales assistants with practical application capabilities could be deployed within one to two years. Although robots can participate in the sales process, Li emphasized that they cannot replace the emotional connection between human staff and customers, making human employees indispensable. Li noted that humanoid robots targeting household and service sectors will become a key market for BYD. Currently, China’s humanoid robotics industry is developing rapidly, but the complexity and unpredictability of home environments pose higher demands on robots’ energy efficiency and AI decision-making capabilities. BYD plans to independently develop and manufacture humanoid robots while also considering procurement from other companies. In addition to humanoid robots, BYD is heavily investing in industrial robotics, aiming to achieve fully automated “lights-out factories” that require no human intervention throughout the production process. Li expects that within the next three to five years, certain production stages could be entirely handled by robots, enabling fully automated factory operations. According to market research firms, the global humanoid robotics market is projected to grow from $3 billion in 2025 to $28 billion by 2030. In 2023, Chinese companies accounted for over 80% of global humanoid robot shipments, with major players including Unitree and UBTECH. Currently, most of these robots are still primarily deployed in controlled environments such as factories and warehouses.