BYD raises driving-tech price citing memory costs

BYD, China's leading electric vehicle maker, is raising the price of its DiPilot 300 assisted-driving system by 21 percent, from 9,900 yuan to 12,000 yuan ($1,757), effective Friday. The company explicitly attributes the hike to a sharp rise in global storage hardware costs. The system, available in mid-range and premium models, enables highway navigation and self-parking, relying on lidar sensors and memory chips for data processing. Analyst Chen Hongyan of TrendForce notes that high-end cars require high-performance chips with large-capacity memory. Kevin Li of Counterpoint Research warns that price increases are spreading to other consumer electronics using memory chips, such as tablets and VR headsets. ByteDance's VR unit Pico has informed distributors of wholesale price hikes starting July 1 due to higher memory costs and supply chain instability.