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Newsletter N°90 - June 2026
🤖 Robotics: BYD Enters Humanoid Robotics With Project 'Yao-Shun-Yu,' Plans 20,000 Factory Units in 2026
BYD has confirmed its secret humanoid robot project, codenamed "Yao-Shun-Yu," initiated in 2022 under the 15th Business Unit for electronic integration. Executive VP Li Ke revealed that 150 prototypes are already testing in BYD factories, with plans to deploy 20,000 units internally by end-2026 and build an industrial park in Xi'an producing 50,000 robots annually.
Leveraging EV expertise in batteries, motors, chips, and precision manufacturing, BYD also boasts a 4,000-engineer autonomous driving team and plans to invest RMB 100 billion in AI and intelligence. Li Ke emphasized China's robots lack "brains" while US robots have weak "limbs"—BYD aims to excel in both. The company may adopt an open platform, allowing third-party software integration, mirroring its "technology fish pond" strategy. BYD will likely be its own largest customer, using robots as store greeters and factory workers.
Competition is fierce: Tesla's Optimus Gen-3 is mass-producing, XPeng targets IRON mass production by late 2026, and Li Auto runs project Nexus. As automakers converge on embodied AI, BYD's manufacturing scale, captive demand, and dual hardware-software focus position it as a formidable contender in the global humanoid robotics race.