Earlier this month, BYD Auto announced the launch of the "Millions of Ocean Gratitude Gifts" promotion. From November 1 to 30, five models of Ocean Network will be offered limited-time discounts, with the maximum discount of up to 18,000 yuan.

On the day the event was announced, BYD also announced its sales in October, with total sales reaching 301,095 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 38.4%, achieving another breakthrough. This is the first time that it has achieved monthly sales of over 300,000.

Although BYD is far ahead in sales, its capital level is not so smooth. Not long ago, Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Buffett, once again reduced its stake in BYD, from 19.92% to less than 8%. This is the 13th time it has reduced its stake in BYD in 14 months. Buffett once said that the new energy track is facing huge challenges and risks.

Sales hit a record high in October, why is there still a promotion?

The first monthly sales of over 300,000 units is another milestone for BYD. In terms of specific models, DM models sold 135,590 units, up 18.6% year-on-year; EV pure electric models sold 165,505 units, up 60.4% year-on-year. Among them, the total sales of Song series models reached 63,965 units.

It is reported that from January to October 2023, the total sales of Song series models have reached 496,614 units. The total sales of Seagull, Yuan Plus and Qin series models have exceeded 40,000 units. It is worth mentioning that since BYD Seagull series models were officially launched in April this year, sales have been increasing every month. The sales growth in October reached 43,350 units, becoming the sales champion of BYD's single model for two consecutive months.

While the sales of new models are leading, BYD has launched a limited-time discount campaign for 5 models under the Ocean Network. The specific discount models include: Frigate 07 with a discount of 18,000 yuan; Dolphin with a discount of 7,000 yuan; Seal (Champion Edition) with a discount of 7,000 yuan; Song PLUS (Champion Edition) with a discount of 5,000 yuan; Destroyer 05 (Champion Edition) with a discount of 5,000 yuan.

In addition, the official also launched the "Million Renewal Gift", "Million Smart Connection Gift" and "Million Charging Gift". When purchasing any configuration of the above models, users can enjoy 2 years of 0 interest, up to 8,000 yuan replacement subsidy, 2 years of free cloud service, free OTA upgrade, free intelligent voice interaction system, and the first owner will enjoy a free charging pile and free installation service within two years.

Judging from the five promotional models, they have not been on the market for long. Except for the Frigate 07, which was launched in December 2022, the other models were launched this year, and the other four models were launched in the second and third quarters of this year. It is unlikely that the promotion will reduce inventory at this time, but it is possible that BYD will rush for a full-year sales at the end of the year.

The market performance of these models is not bad, but it is worth another push. For example, as of November 2023, the latest monthly sales of the Frigate 07 is 3,085 units, and the cumulative sales in 2023 is 56,298 units. Among SUVs, the monthly sales ranked 24th and the annual sales ranked 12th. The sales have been declining in the past five months, and the sales in May reached 10,005 units; the latest monthly sales of the Dolphin are 24,282 units, and the cumulative sales in 2023 are 221,579 units. Among sedans, the monthly sales ranked 2nd and the annual sales ranked 1st. Among Chinese cars, the monthly sales ranked 6th and the annual sales ranked 3rd.

BYD's annual sales target for this year is 3 million vehicles. In the first three quarters, BYD's cumulative sales reached 2.078 million vehicles, which has already achieved 69.3% of its annual sales target. It is reasonable to use the last three months to boost sales. In the third quarter of this year, BYD launched 9 new or modified models, including Yangwang U8, Denza N7, Tang EV Champion Edition, and Haibao DM-i. Product sales may be further improved. According to BYD's previous monthly sales growth rate of 10,000 vehicles, BYD's sales in the remaining three months will be about 900,000 vehicles, which can basically achieve the target.

BYD may also hope to use sales to reassure itself by boosting sales through promotional offers. After all, the new energy vehicle market is too lively this year, especially in terms of intelligence, BYD's "backwardness" is obvious to all. According to the established evolutionary path of China's new energy vehicle industry, electrification is the first step, and BYD's advantages are in full view. However, the next step is the real tough battle, and intelligence and networking are the real tough stubble. The technological attributes of automobiles will be further released. At that time, how BYD will respond is a real big problem.

Intelligent driving has become an unspeakable pain

In April this year, at the BYD Group 2022 Financial Report Exchange Conference, Wang Chuanfu's speech on autonomous driving is still fresh in our memory. At that time, Wang Chuanfu said, "Unmanned driving is nonsense, it is just used to fool the people. The product that emerged under the coercion of capital can only be used as a selling point by car companies, but it is actually useless. Autonomous driving is just an advanced assisted driving that is coerced by capital."

This statement caused dissatisfaction and mutual criticism among a number of bigwigs in the automotive industry.

Yu Chengdong responded to Wang Chuanfu's view that "autonomous driving is nonsense" and said, "There are two reasons for saying that autonomous driving is nonsense. Either they don't understand the industry, or they say it on purpose. They deliberately attack the industry. Being far ahead is not something you say casually. You can only brag if you have done it."

It is indeed "nonsense" to say that BYD does not understand this industry, but it is not unreasonable to say that BYD "deliberately attacks this industry". Although BYD is "far ahead" in sales, it started on the road of intelligence early but is not very sophisticated, and is increasingly being overtaken by latecomers.

As early as the beginning of 2013, BYD cooperated with Beijing Institute of Technology to develop a wire-controlled autonomous driving test car, providing a very convenient research and testing platform for driverless car technology. BYD started preparing for autonomous driving when the new car-making forces of Wei, Xiaopeng and Li Auto were not yet established. How can it be said that it did not know enough about the industry?

BYD's autonomous driving test car equipped with visual perception equipment and ranging radar

Although Wang Chuanfu's remarks were shocking, his body was very honest and he stepped up efforts to develop the intelligent driving sector.

Also in April this year, Horizon Robotics said that BYD's self-developed BEV fusion perception solution based on the Journey 5 chip will be mass-produced within the year. Four months later, Liao Jie, the former intelligent driving R&D director of Horizon Robotics, joined BYD and served as the head of BYD's intelligent driving Shanghai team.

Liao Jie joined Horizon Robotics in May 2016 and worked at the company for seven years as a senior R&D engineer. He was later promoted to director of intelligent driving R&D, during which time he was mainly responsible for the autonomous driving algorithms of the Journey series chips and worked with partners to iterate and optimize them. BYD did not reveal much information about whether Liao Jie's joining BYD was related to the Journey 5 chip.

What is certain is that BYD, which "says one thing but does another", is anxious about smart technology. Wang Chuanfu once said that the first half of new energy vehicles is electrification, and the second half is smart technology. Although BYD started early, it has lagged far behind its competitors in smart driving technology.

Since its launch, AITO Wenjie New M7 has become a bright "pearl" in the new energy vehicle market. According to the latest data released by AITO Wenjie, the daily sales of the modified model Wenjie New M7 reached 7,000 units. Since its release on September 12, the cumulative sales of Wenjie New M7 have exceeded 50,000 units. In addition to benefiting from Huawei's influence, it is also equipped with the HUAWEI ADS2.0 high-level intelligent driving system, which is the first to realize high-speed and urban high-level intelligent driving that does not rely on high-precision maps.

The extreme price-to-intelligence ratio of 250,000 yuan makes the general public start to pay more attention to the intelligent driving level of the car model, and consumers are becoming more and more receptive to intelligent driving technology. In addition to Wenjie, Baidu-enabled Jiyue, new power brands represented by "Wei Xiaoli" and the crossover Xiaomi that has not yet been launched are all increasing their R&D investment in the field of intelligent driving. Jiyue is backed by Baidu, so its level of intelligence is beyond doubt. Although "Wei Xiaoli" started late, it is not slow on the road to intelligence.

Xiaopeng is the most determined among the "Wei, Xiao, and Li Auto" in the field of intelligent driving. The XNGP intelligent assisted driving system launched this year is regarded by many car fans as the ceiling of the L2 system. For example, it can achieve full automatic following, lane changing, overtaking, and speed regulation in urban road conditions. Currently, Xiaopeng is also the car company that exports the most technology among the "Wei, Xiao, and Li Auto", and cooperates with giants such as Volkswagen.

BYD, on the other hand, has main models priced below RMB 200,000, and intelligence is not a rigid demand. Take the latest Song L as an example, it not only has no laser radar, but also no OrinX chip. Although it can also support L2 assisted driving function, compared with Xiaopeng's NGP function, BYD's intelligent assistance function is naturally still far behind.

After becoming a "traditional car company", where is BYD going?

Perhaps it is precisely because BYD has been struggling in the second half of the intelligentization that, as the leader in new energy vehicles, it has gradually been labeled a "traditional car company." In fact, from the performance point of view, BYD is "traditional" in more than just intelligence.

BYD's product batteries are mostly equipped with three-year-old iron phosphate blade batteries. Although they are indeed cheaper and safer, they still have defects in battery life and charging time. In contrast, other car companies use semi-solid, Kirin, condensed batteries, etc. The energy density of solid-state batteries is twice that of current iron-lithium batteries; the energy density of lithium iron phosphate batteries is around 200wh/kg, corresponding to a battery life of 300-500km; the energy density of ternary batteries is around 250wh/kg, corresponding to a battery life of 500-700km. If solid-state batteries use a high-nickel ternary + metal lithium material system, the energy density is expected to exceed 400Wh/kg, and the battery life will be greatly improved.

According to incomplete statistics, Dongfeng, NIO, and SERES have announced that they will install semi-solid-state batteries in their vehicles this year. Automakers such as Changan Auto, Zhiji, GAC Aion, and HiPhi have also begun planning to install semi-solid-state batteries in their vehicles before 2025.

In terms of power, BYD's latest Song L is still used as an example. Except for the top model with a price of 280,000 yuan, which is equipped with dual-motor four-wheel drive, the rest are single-motor rear-wheel drive. The latest models of other new car manufacturers have obvious advantages. For example, the single-motor versions of Xiaopeng G6 and Zhiji LS6 have a maximum power of 218kW and 231kW respectively, while Song L uses a low-power 150kW motor, which can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.6 seconds, while Zhiji LS6 can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds, which is comparable to the Model Y before the upgrade.

This is BYD's latest model, which has already sparked controversy over its high price and low configuration. If BYD wants to get rid of the label of a "traditional car company", it may not only need to accelerate its intelligence, but also work hard to improve its product strength.

Recently, BYD has been making frequent overseas moves. According to German media reports, BYD's first passenger car factory in Europe may be located in Hungary. At present, the two parties have not responded to this matter, and the specific site selection and investment details are still under discussion, but the interaction between the company's senior management and Hungarian officials shows that the two sides have made some progress in cooperation.

As a leading enterprise, BYD's export achievements are obvious to all. In October, it exported 30,500 passenger cars, accounting for more than 10% of the monthly sales of passenger cars, and its overseas sales reached a new high. Although such achievements are "far ahead", the new forces represented by "Weibo, Xiaoli, and Li Auto" have accelerated their pace in foreign cooperation this year. BYD still needs to have a sense of crisis. After all, there is no shortage of "intelligent" opponents in the second half of the new energy field. Chinese auto companies have shown a flourishing overseas market, and there are many partners for overseas companies to choose from.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.