BYD hikes price of driver-assistance system as memory chip costs surge
BYD Co. Ltd. will raise the price of an advanced driver-assistance system package on some models in May as surging memory-chip costs squeeze the auto industry. The Chinese new-energy vehicle maker said Tuesday that the optional God’s Eye B driver-assist system will increase to 12,000 yuan ($1,757) from 9,900 yuan. The system supports complex urban navigation, a technically demanding feature that requires higher-performance computing and memory hardware than lower-tier systems designed only for highway driving. Memory chips have been on a rapid, sustained price upswing since the third quarter of 2025. Standard dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) contract prices are estimated to have surged 93% to 98% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of 2026 and are expected to rise another 58% to 63% in the second quarter, according to market-research firm TrendForce.
