BYD's Layout in Electrification, Connectivity, Intelligence and Sharing and Strategy Analysis Report, 2023-2024

Insight: BYD deploys vehicle-mounted drones, and the autonomous driving charging robot market is expected to boom.

BYD and Dongfeng M-Hero make cross-border layout of drones.

In recent years, as vehicle intelligence and civilian drone technology and regulations became mature, drones have also been mentioned by ever more OEMs. They have made the layout by way of cross-border cooperation with drone companies. Recently, BYD, Tesla and Dongfeng among others have announced their drone solutions based on their production models.

In January 2024, BYD and DJI announced a cooperative drone solution and a plan of investing RMB5 billion, which will be implemented in phases in the years to come. The first model to be equipped is Yangwang U8 Player Edition. With the navigation system, sensor technology and intelligent control algorithms, the drone enables such functions as autonomous takeoff and landing, automatic cruise control, and intelligent obstacle avoidance.

The exclusive drone module co-developed by BYD and DJI provides a landing platform on the vehicle roof. The drone can be flown here to detect routes, and can also become a companion of off-road vehicles to check road conditions at any time. During recovery, the drone hangar on the roof is opened to reveal the landing platform. The recovery device will fix the drone, and also replace its battery through the mechanical structure to achieve continuous use of the drone.

Yangwang U8 Player Edition will be equipped with this drone system, with 3 backup batteries, in-car video monitoring and a hangar for charging the drone battery outside the car. This system consists of hangar assembly, drone, battery, remote sensing module, remote control handle, and vehicle flight control APP. It has multiple functions such as one-button takeoff, intelligent follow, one-button photography, and one-button landing.

After taking off, the drone will automatically lock the vehicle and enter the intelligent following state, with a maximum following speed of 50km/h, and also has automatic omnidirectional obstacle avoidance function. As for the photography mode, it carries three camera movement templates: adventure, lightness, and epic.

In August 2023, Dongfeng M-Hero announced a drone solution in cooperation with GDU Technology. M-Hero 917 is equipped with Oriental Hawkeye drone system. With dual infrared and visible light channels and the road monitoring function, GDU Technology’s S400 drone can survey environmental information such as road terrain, slope and angle. It supports synchronous intelligent path planning, and has a mounting capacity of 3 kg.