BYD (比亚迪) says "Tianshen Eye" (天神之眼) L3/L4 will be first to pack a LiDAR with more than 1,000 lines

Announcement

It has been reported that BYD (比亚迪) chairman and president Wang Chuanfu (王传福) told attendees at the automaker’s intelligentization strategy event that the Tianshen Eye autonomous-driving version (天神之眼, L3 / L4) will be the first production system to ship with a LiDAR exceeding 1,000 lines. Wang also said the package will include a flash (strobe) camera and dual long-wave infrared cameras, signaling a sensor suite aimed at higher-resolution perception in varied conditions.

Technical and market implications

More than 1,000 lines of LiDAR implies much denser point-clouds and finer object resolution, potentially improving detection and classification at range — helpful for higher-level autonomy where redundancy matters. But higher-channel LiDARs bring cost, processing, and thermal management challenges. Will the trade-off favor faster deployment of L3/L4 features in China’s crowded EV market? BYD’s move could sharpen competition with local rivals such as NIO, Xpeng and global players that have leaned on camera-first or lower-channel LiDAR strategies.

Chips, supply chains and strategy

Wang reportedly framed the shift to high-level autonomous driving as part of a broader pivot: “the first half of electrification is about batteries; the second half of intelligentization is about chips.” He said BYD is the first domestic company to produce automotive-grade IGBT and SiC power chips — a claim that, if sustained at scale, underscores the firm’s vertical-integration strategy and its bid to control key EV and autonomy components in-house.

Geopolitical backdrop

This push comes against a backdrop of Western export controls and broader tech tensions that have accelerated China’s emphasis on semiconductor self-reliance. Whether a >1,000-line LiDAR and BYD’s chip ambitions will translate into safe, regulatory-approved L3/L4 consumer rollout remains to be seen. It has been reported that Wang described high-level autonomous driving as moving "from far-off to within reach" — but timelines, certification hurdles and cost will determine how quickly consumers actually experience it.