Podcast Episode
The push builds on BYD's "Yao-Shun-Yu" project, first launched in late 2024 under the company's 15th Division, a dedicated unit focused on embodied artificial intelligence. By 2025, BYD had already begun deploying robots in its own production environments, and in January 2026 it showcased a robot at the Brussels Motor Show that drew significant attention from visitors.
Li argues that BYD's manufacturing heritage gives it a genuine edge. "The complex software systems and precision hardware manufacturing experience accumulated in the automotive industry can be directly transferred to robot development, drastically minimising challenges in technological breakthroughs," she said. In other words, the skills needed to mass-produce reliable cars, precision motors, batteries, sensors and control software, map closely onto what it takes to build a humanoid robot.
The ambition arrives at a complicated moment for BYD, which recently reported a sharp decline in profits even as it expands aggressively into new markets and technologies. Whether robotics becomes a true second pillar or an expensive bet will depend on whether BYD can turn factory experience into products people actually want, both on the showroom floor and, one day, in the living room.
BYD Bets Big on Humanoid Robots as Its Next Core Business
May 28, 2026
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Chinese carmaker BYD says humanoid robots will become a core business alongside electric vehicles, with Executive Vice President Stella Li confirming the company is advancing in-house robot development in full force. The first robots will work in BYD's global dealership network, with longer-term ambitions to bring them into homes.
A Carmaker Reaches for Robots
BYD, the Chinese giant best known as one of the world's largest makers of electric vehicles, is positioning humanoid robots as its next core business. Executive Vice President Stella Li said the company is "advancing independent research and development of humanoid robots in full force," framing robotics as a track that will sit alongside its new energy vehicle operations rather than as a side experiment.The push builds on BYD's "Yao-Shun-Yu" project, first launched in late 2024 under the company's 15th Division, a dedicated unit focused on embodied artificial intelligence. By 2025, BYD had already begun deploying robots in its own production environments, and in January 2026 it showcased a robot at the Brussels Motor Show that drew significant attention from visitors.
From Factory Floor to Showroom
The company's first real-world deployment will focus on its global 4S dealership network, the showrooms that handle sales, service, spare parts and surveys. There, robots are expected to take on sales guidance and customer reception duties, providing what BYD calls "new support for the intelligent transformation of its retail outlets."Li argues that BYD's manufacturing heritage gives it a genuine edge. "The complex software systems and precision hardware manufacturing experience accumulated in the automotive industry can be directly transferred to robot development, drastically minimising challenges in technological breakthroughs," she said. In other words, the skills needed to mass-produce reliable cars, precision motors, batteries, sensors and control software, map closely onto what it takes to build a humanoid robot.
Household Ambitions
Beyond dealerships, BYD envisions robots eventually entering homes to handle daily tasks such as cleaning, cooking and companionship, building toward what the company describes as "a full-scenario intelligent service ecosystem."A Crowded, Chinese-Led Field
The announcement lands as Chinese firms increasingly dominate the humanoid robotics landscape. At CES 2026, 58 percent of humanoid robot exhibitors were Chinese companies. In May 2026, the city of Hangzhou deployed 15 humanoid robots for traffic management duties, another sign of how quickly the technology is moving from demonstration to deployment in China.The ambition arrives at a complicated moment for BYD, which recently reported a sharp decline in profits even as it expands aggressively into new markets and technologies. Whether robotics becomes a true second pillar or an expensive bet will depend on whether BYD can turn factory experience into products people actually want, both on the showroom floor and, one day, in the living room.
Published May 28, 2026 at 12:36am
