How do you train a model to drive with LiDAR when the human drivers who generate the training data don’t use LiDAR?
Scan with LiDAR while manually driving.
BYD's cheapest electric cars to have Lidar self-driving tech
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Re: BYD's cheapest electric cars to have Lidar self-driving tech
#32Keep in mind, that $25k AUD is just $16600. And for that price, you're getting a real car with driver-assist features and a reasonable crash safety rating. The US car manufacturers are cooked.
I heard from a friend he paid around $12k AUD for the cheapest new ICE car, Holden brand, which I guess proves the west can compete if they try?
Edit: Holden Spark.
Re: BYD's cheapest electric cars to have Lidar self-driving tech
#33Keep in mind, that $25k AUD is just $16600. And for that price, you're getting a real car with driver-assist features and a reasonable crash safety rating. The US car manufacturers are cooked.
> The US car manufacturers are cooked.
Biden put a 100% tariff on Chinese cars and then Trump added tariffs on inputs.
Americans are getting screwed!
Re: BYD's cheapest electric cars to have Lidar self-driving tech
#34Keep in mind, that $25k AUD is just $16600. And for that price, you're getting a real car with driver-assist features and a reasonable crash safety rating. The US car manufacturers are cooked.
> The US car manufacturers are cooked. Biden put a 100% tariff on Chinese cars and then Trump added tariffs on inputs. Americans are getting screwed!
We in the US can't hide forever.
Re: BYD's cheapest electric cars to have Lidar self-driving tech
#35The roof mount seems very practical, but it's a look that may turn off some buyers... buyers who care about looks. For SUVs, maybe it could be blended in with a roof air scoop, like on some off-road trucks. Or a light bar. Where is the LiDAR on the Atto 1? In the grille? How much worse is the field of view?
My personal take is that if users can get used to the notch on the iPhone , they could get used to that too.
Re: BYD's cheapest electric cars to have Lidar self-driving tech
#36Keep in mind, that $25k AUD is just $16600. And for that price, you're getting a real car with driver-assist features and a reasonable crash safety rating. The US car manufacturers are cooked.
US manufacturers are going to be ok as long as there are policies banning foreign cars and there are tariffs, which is going to be true for a long time.
And somehow US consumers feel comfortable paying more for worse cars.
Re: BYD's cheapest electric cars to have Lidar self-driving tech
#37Lidars come down in price ~40x. https://cleantechnica.com/2025/03/20/lidars-wicked-cost-drop... Meanwhile visible light based tech is going up in price due to competing with ai on the extra gpu need while lidar gets the range/depth side of things for free. Ideally cars use both but if you had to choose one or the other for cost you’d be insane to choose vision over lidar. Musk made an ill timed decision to go vision…
Could it also be about the looks? Waymo has a rather industrial look, with so many LiDARs, and the roof turret.
Some companies work on reducing the size of it so manufacturers will be able to put it inside the car behind the mirror. Innoviz is one example https://techtime.news/2025/11/14/innoviz-27/
Re: BYD's cheapest electric cars to have Lidar self-driving tech
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
Show the cost differences and do the math then come back to us before you can suggest what decisions were ill timed. Otherwise it's just armchair engineering.
I'd love to take on this challenge: the article they linked shows the cost add for LIDAR (+$130) -- -- but I'm not sure how to get data on ex. how much Tesla is charged for a Nvidia whatever or what compute Waymo has -- My personal take is Waymo uses cameras too so maybe we have to assume the worst case, +full cost of lidar / +$130
The issue isn't just the cost of the lidar units off the shelf. You have to install the sensors on the car. Modifications like that at the scale that Waymo does them (they still have less than 10K cars) are not automated and probably cost almost as much as the price of the car itself. BYD is getting around this by including them in a mass produced car, so their cost per unit is closer to the $130 off the shelf price. This is the winning combination IMO.
Re: BYD's cheapest electric cars to have Lidar self-driving tech
#39Still not convinced of the safety of lidar. I guess all these cars with cheap lidar sensors on board will generate real world safety data over the next few years.
Why not? And cheap is a relative term, from American point of view these sensors may be expensive because they have to buy it from suppliers, from BYD’s perspective it could be home grown given they are by far the most vertically integrated vehicle manufacturer.
Re: BYD's cheapest electric cars to have Lidar self-driving tech
#40Keep in mind, that $25k AUD is just $16600. And for that price, you're getting a real car with driver-assist features and a reasonable crash safety rating. The US car manufacturers are cooked.
I heard from a friend he paid around $12k AUD for the cheapest new ICE car, Holden brand, which I guess proves the west can compete if they try? Edit: Holden Spark.
New? You haven't been able to buy a new Holden since '21.