Chinese car giant BYD has confirmed that it will be offering LiDAR sensors for autonomous driving in its smallest and lowest cost EV, which is known as the Seagull in its home market and the Atto 1, in Australia.
These additional features will be packed into the new version of the Seagull without an increase in price from the current model, with the brand hinting at a starting price in its home market of under $A14,250. In a post on Weibo, the company said: “The Seagull brand gets a stylish upgrade and a new look! 2026 Seagull gets more features, same price!”
Earlier this year, it was reported that the latest approved Seagull versions would come equipped with 12 cameras, 5 mm-wave radars, a dozen ultrasonic sensors, and a new LiDAR sensor.
The LiDAR sensor is mounted on the roof, as seen in the new photos shared by the brand, which had previously been spotted on BYD and other EV makers’ models priced at more than $A25,000.
As of 2026, seeing them on cars priced under that is quite a big step toward bringing this technology to the mass market.
This also means that BYD has been working quite hard at bringing this tech to these low-cost models, given that they originally launched with BYD’s autonomous God’s Eye suite last year.
With the inclusion of LiDAR in the Seagull, this model is expected to come standard with Navigate on Autopilot (NOA) functionality for highways and city streets, allowing more drivers than ever to experience and use this tech on roads in China.
The Seagull is one of the company’s most important models, especially when it comes to sales. The company has seen over a million units sold in under 3 years, with deliveries starting in Australia as the Atto 1 from the start of this year.
With that scale and the model now entering international markets, the tech inside could end up in dozens of countries in the coming years.
Here in Australia, the Atto 1 is a slightly longer car than China’s Seagull, and pre-orders opened in November last year, with prices starting under $24,000 confirmed in December.
The Atto 1 is available in two variants, the base level Essentials with a 30 kWh battery, as well as a top-spec Premium variant with a 43.2 kWh battery.
The small battery delivers around 220 km of WLTP range, while the larger 43.2 kWh battery pack is good for 310 km of WLTP range.
Inside, the tech is fairly good for its price, but it does not include the camera suite found in the latest ADAS version in China.
Currently, no BYD product available in the Australian market features LiDAR sensors, but that could change with developments such as the upcoming affordable model variants featuring this tech.
We will watch this space closely as the competition to deliver assisted-driving systems heats up not only in China but also in other markets worldwide too, even in the most affordable end of the EV market.
