SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – BYD Co (OTC:) Ltd could also be China’s greatest electrical automobile maker by a rustic mile nevertheless it is aware of it lags rivals in autonomous driving, and has arrange a brand new division and launched into an enormous hiring spree to rectify that shortcoming.

Between 4,000 and 5,000 software program engineers have been employed not too long ago, BYD senior vp Stella Li instructed an investor discussion board this month when quizzed why the automaker was behind in automation and intelligence applied sciences.

“We’re not forward of others however we’ll provide you with varied sorts of innovation in two to 3 years,” she mentioned in accordance with a transcript that was confirmed as correct by the corporate.

Present BYD recruiting ads for engineers specialising in autonomous driving that focus on high Chinese language universities similar to Zhejiang College, point out that the hiring is ongoing.

BYD arrange an clever driving analysis division in Shanghai final yr, in accordance with three sources with direct information of the matter.

Beforehand, engineers engaged on autonomous driving had been scattered throughout varied components of the corporate and the brand new division will carry extra focus to BYD’s efforts in high-level automated driving applied sciences, they mentioned.

The sources weren’t authorised to talk to media and declined to be recognized. The automaker, which is 9.87% owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:) Inc and had some 660,000 staff as of April, declined to elaborate on its autonomous driving technique.

BYD offered some 510,000 pure electrical and plug-in hybrid automobiles in China throughout the first quarter, accounting for almost 40% of gross sales of such automobiles and almost 4 instances greater than Tesla (NASDAQ:) Inc.

Most of its automobiles are at present geared up with Superior Driver Help Techniques (ADAS) developed by Bosch.

By comparability, rivals like Tesla, Xpeng (NYSE:), Nio (NYSE:) and Li Auto have developed their very own automated driving options which can be extra superior and might, for instance, permit drivers to cede management of the automotive when on highways.

BYD has additionally this yr teamed up with autonomous driving chip expertise corporations Nvidia (NASDAQ:) and Horizon Robotics, saying it needed to develop extra clever automobiles.

Nvidia’s Orin, one of many world’s strongest autonomous driving computing platforms, will probably be utilized in its next-generation Dynasty and Ocean sequence of automobiles, the businesses mentioned.

Each are high-volume fashions and additional advances in BYD autonomous driving options would popularise the expertise inside China.

Horizon Robotics’ Journey 5, a lower-cost different to Orin, will probably be utilized in BYD’s Han sedans within the second half of this yr, in accordance with one of many three sources.

That can assist equip the mannequin with new options which can be on par with Tesla’s Navigate on Autopilot, the supply added.

Based simply 28 years in the past in southern China, BYD has outdone rivals in electrical automobiles by using a excessive stage of vertical integration, growing and manufacturing batteries and different key parts by itself.