In Korea, concerns about personal data security are growing as BYD, the Chinese automaker that recently entered the Korean car market, announced its partnership with DeepSeek, a company previously flagged for potential data breach issues.
While BYD aims to enhance its autonomous driving capabilities through its partnership with DeepSeek, industry experts warn that data security fears could become a significant deterrent for potential buyers.
BYD plans to initially equip its China-market vehicles with DeepSeek technology and decide whether to use it in export models based on local conditions. However, given the critical role of autonomous driving expected in future automotive competitiveness, analysts believe it’s unlikely BYD will completely exclude DeepSeek from its export vehicles.
According to automotive industry sources on Wednesday, BYD CEO Wang Chuanfu announced at a smart strategy presentation held at the headquarters of Shenzhen, China, on February 10th that all future BYD vehicles will feature an autonomous driving system called “God’s Eye,” developed in collaboration with DeepSeek.
DeepSeek has recently garnered attention in certain performance tests as it outperformed OpenAI’s “o1,” which has led to the Generative AI craze. Analysts say that its advanced voice and image recognition capabilities and rapid information processing capabilities are expected to significantly enhance autonomous driving functions by utilizing data collected from cameras and radar systems. Other Chinese automakers, including Geely, have also announced plans to incorporate DeepSeek technology.
As the global leader in electric vehicle sales, BYD’s vast data resources are expected to create powerful synergies through this partnership. BYD’s autonomous driving technology currently operates at Level 2-3, and industry insiders anticipate that the “God’s Eye” system will directly compete with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology.
However, the partnership between Chinese firms has intensified data security concerns. Some fear that sensitive information, including driving records and in-car communication logs, could be transmitted to China.
Similar concerns arose when BYD launched the Atto 3 in the Korean market. There were concerns that driver data collected through Connected-Car features like wireless phone projection, wireless GPS, and software updates could be sent back to China.
In response to these concerns, BYD has previously emphasized its strict adherence to the Korean Personal Information Protection Law and assured that personal information collected in Korea is not shared with its Chinese headquarters.
Despite these assurances, the new partnership with DeepSeek seems to reignite data privacy worries. Following its public debut, Korean government ministries, agencies, and Hyundai Motor Group have decided to ban the use of DeepSeek. Major countries and companies worldwide have banned using DeepSeek due to data security concerns.
BYD Korea stated, “The autonomous driving technology will initially be applied to models launched in mainland China. We are developing a tailored strategy for appropriate implementation timing for vehicles destined for overseas markets like Korea and Europe.”
While this approach may temporarily alleviate immediate data security concerns for U.S. consumers, industry experts predict that autonomous driving capabilities will significantly influence car buying decisions. Consequently, there’s a high likelihood that the “God’s Eye” system will eventually be incorporated into BYD’s export models.
An industry insider commented, “Data security is critical for Korean consumers. If BYD fails to address these concerns effectively, it could face significant challenges in the Korean market.”