EV Daily | Tesla Shifts to Human-Driven Ride Service; BYD Expands into Luxury EVs amid Price Wars

【Tesla】

Tesla has applied for a permit in California to launch a ride-hailing service using human drivers, stepping away from its promise of unsupervised self-driving. This marks a shift from Tesla's initial robotaxi claims, resembling services like Waymo's. Elon Musk remains optimistic about achieving unsupervised self-driving by the end of the year, although this has been a repeated claim over the past decade. Meanwhile, Tesla faces challenges in China with its Full Self-Driving (FSD) update as it violates traffic laws due to differing local regulations, leading to fines for users and bad PR. Additionally, Tesla is embroiled in a class-action lawsuit in Australia over alleged defects in its self-driving and Autopilot systems, claiming false advertising about the hardware's capabilities.

【BYD】

BYD is expanding its market presence, moving beyond affordable electric vehicles (EVs) like the Seagull to include luxury sedans, SUVs, and sports cars. In response to competition, Volkswagen has slashed prices for its electric ID.4 in China, positioning it against BYD's affordable models like the Atto 3. BYD continues to lead in the Chinese market, dominating as global OEMs like Volkswagen struggle to maintain their market share amid fierce price wars. BYD has also upgraded 21 of its top-selling models with new smart driving features.

【Others】

Aston Martin faces challenges in the EV market, with job cuts and delays in launching its first fully electric vehicle. Meanwhile, Xiaomi's first electric vehicle, SU7, has secured significant market traction in China, and a new high-performance variant, the SU7 Ultra, has been launched. Volkswagen has reduced prices for its ID.4 models in China in response to local market competition. Family Nissan gifted a woman a free LEAF EV after a racial incident, highlighting the brand's commitment to customer service and inclusivity. Kia showcased its EV lineup, including the EV3, EV4, and new concept models like the EV2 and PV5, as part of its strategy to expand in the global EV market, confirming plans to enter the US market with the EV4. Japanese company Idemitsu Kosan plans to supply Toyota with materials for all-solid-state EV batteries, aiming for mass production in the late 2020s, an essential step in Toyota's battery technology roadmap.