BYD is the latest automaker to build a BYD humanoid robot, and a newly published patent shows what it looks like.
What the patent shows
China’s National Intellectual Property Administration published an “Embodied AI Robot” design patent for BYD on October 9, 2026. The drawings show a black and white humanoid with a rounded head, no screen for a face, and joints in the torso, arms and legs. The patent says the robot can walk, balance and interact with its surroundings, and lists service, education and industrial uses.
BYD humanoid robot Size and specs
The design looks a lot like “Xiao Di” (“little D”), a robot BYD has teased before. Xiao Di is reported to stand 1.61 metres tall, weigh 58.5 kg and have 31 degrees of freedom. BYD hasn’t said the patent shows the final Xiao Di, so don’t assume those numbers apply to this design.
Where it will work
The reports don’t line up. BYD says Xiao Di will first appear in public at its D Space centre in Zhengzhou. Vice president Stella Li has talked about putting two or three robots in every store to explain products and demo cars. Reported features include recognising faces, gestures and lip movements, and translating live between several languages and dialects.
Factories are the other target. BYD has already tested Ubtech’s Walker S1 humanoid at its Changsha plant. It has denied reports of 150 working prototypes and a 20,000-unit internal rollout.
How rivals are doing
XPENG is furthest along. Its IRON walked off a new Guangzhou production line in September, and the company wants mass production by the end of 2026, starting in its own stores and campuses.
Tesla is behind. Optimus keeps slipping, and commercial sales are now aimed at the second half of 2027.
Hyundai is thinking biggest. It plans to put Boston Dynamics’ Atlas in its Georgia Metaplant from 2028 and in Kia’s Georgia plant in 2029, and it wants to build about 30,000 a year by 2028.
Mercedes-Benz has been piloting Apptronik’s Apollo since 2024, including in Berlin. Chery’s Mornine, built with AiMOGA, works as a showroom assistant and has appeared in more than 30 countries. Honda did early humanoid work too, with ASIMO.
What’s still unknown
BYD hasn’t given a price, production volume or launch date for the patented design. And no one has shown humanoid robots working at scale. XPENG, for all its progress, hasn’t delivered one to a paying customer.
