Investing.com-- Shares of BYD extended a recent rally on Friday and were close to a record high after the company said it will reveal its plans for autonomous vehicles in a press conference next week.
BYD’s Hong Kong-listed shares (HK:1211) rose 4.8% to a peak of HK$332.40- coming within spitting distance of a 2022 record high. The company’s Shenzhen-listed shares (SZ:002594) rose nearly 5% to 326.65 yuan. Both shares were set to rise more than 20% this week.
BYD- one of the world’s best-selling electric vehicle makers and a major Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) rival- said on Thursday that it will reveal its vehicle intelligence strategy on February 10. The press conference is set to take place at 7:30 PM Beijing time (6:30 AM EST).
BYD’s shares had skyrocketed after its announcement on Thursday, as investors bet that the company’s intelligent driving systems- which could be launched at a mass-market scale- will drive a new round of sales growth.
The company sold a record 4.3 million vehicles in 2024, handily overtaking rival Tesla, who sold about 1.8 million vehicles. BYD’s sales of battery electric vehicles, however, just lagged Tesla.
Still, Tesla is seen ahead of BYD in autonomous vehicles, having incorporated autonomous driving software into its vehicles as early as 2015. Tesla had also last year unveiled its Cybercab robotaxi- a fully autonomous vehicle, although it did not provide a clear timeline for production.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also repeatedly emphasised on autonomous vehicles driving the next leg of growth for Tesla, as the company grapples with slowing EV sales.