In September 2026, BYD Semiconductor launched mass production of a new 4D millimeter-wave radar that integrates with the company's proprietary Xuanji A3 chip. This is not just another component — it is part of a strategy of full vertical integration, in which the Chinese giant controls everything from the battery to the autonomous driving algorithms.
The Xuanji A3 chip, unveiled back in May, became China's first automotive processor built on a 4-nm process. A single chip delivers more than 700 TOPS, while three in a cluster deliver over 2100 TOPS. The system supports L3 and L4 functions, including mapless urban navigation and automatic parking. Compared with its analogues, energy consumption per unit of computation is reduced by 20 %, while the company's own algorithms double the efficiency of power use.
The new radar completes the picture: its detection range exceeds 400 meters, and its angular resolution is 0,8 degrees. It works in tandem with the Xuanji A3 and makes it possible to overcome the limitations of conventional radars in challenging urban conditions. BYD already equips even inexpensive models with its "God's Eye" LiDAR system, and data from millions of cars on the road — more than 200 million kilometers every day — accelerates the training of neural networks.
The company's interests are obvious: to reduce dependence on suppliers such as NVIDIA or Horizon Robotics, to cut costs and to speed up the adoption of technologies. Full control over the supply chain gives BYD an advantage in price and in the speed of updates. At the same time, the company is not abandoning partnerships entirely, testing third-party solutions in parallel with its own developments.
For buyers around the world, this means that advanced driver assistance systems will cease to be the prerogative of the premium segment. Even now, the LiDAR option is available for 12 000 yuan across a broad model lineup. The question is how quickly regulators in different countries will permit the full use of L3/L4 on public roads.
In the long term, BYD is demonstrating that vertical integration in electric vehicles is moving from batteries to the car's "brain." This changes the balance of power in the industry: mass-market EVs are gaining access to technologies that once seemed the preserve of a narrow circle of players. The first production cars with the Xuanji A3 on board are expected in 2027 under the Denza brand.
Thus, BYD is not merely catching up but setting the pace, making sophisticated autonomous driving systems accessible to millions of ordinary drivers.
