Chinese EV giant BYD (HKEX: 1211) has confirmed to China Securities Journal that it will unveil its first humanoid robot in August 2026 at Di Space, its network of offline science-and-experience venues. The debut is expected to take place at the Zhengzhou Di Space location, where a WeChat teaser was posted on July 25 hinting at a humanoid product designed around interaction rather than technical specs.
A service humanoid, not a factory bot
Nicknamed "Xiao Di," the robot stands roughly 1.61 meters tall, weighs about 58.5 kilograms, and reportedly has 31 degrees of freedom. BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li has said the automaker wants two to three humanoids per BYD store to greet visitors, explain vehicle models, and demonstrate in-car systems — a customer-facing rollout rather than the factory-floor pilots that dominate industry news. Li told a talk show earlier this summer that robots "cannot replace the emotional connection between human salespeople and customers," positioning Xiao Di as an assistive rather than replacement worker.
Chinese automakers pile into robotics
BYD set up a dedicated humanoid robotics lab inside its 15th Business Division in late 2024, recruited postgraduate researchers into an embodied intelligence team, and has already backed peers like AgiBot and PaXini through investment. The strategy mirrors a broader push by Chinese automakers into robotics: Chery's Aimoga brand is already selling humanoids to consumers, SAIC-GM has deployed wheeled humanoids on battery assembly lines, and Xpeng plans to start mass production of its Iron humanoid by the end of 2026.
Timing lines up with a busy humanoid week
BYD's debut window overlaps with a coordinated global push in humanoids. Unitree's H1 Pro rolls out in Asia on August 5 and North America on August 12, and the IEEE-RAS Humanoids 2026 conference runs July 31 through August 6 in Santa Clara. Investor appetite has followed: humanoid startups have raised roughly $8.6 billion in 2026 alone — already 1.8x more than in all of 2025 — including LimX Dynamics' $200M pre-IPO round. For BYD, the calculation is straightforward: with 5 million EVs sold in 2025 and a globe-spanning dealer footprint, Xiao Di gives it an in-house distribution channel most humanoid startups will never touch.
Reporting based on coverage from CnEVPost, KrASIA, and Gasgoo.