Xiao Di is the first humanoid robot from BYD, the world's largest electric-vehicle maker, shown publicly in early August 2026 at the company's Di Space experience centre in Zhengzhou. It stands 1.61 m tall and weighs 58.5 kg; coverage of the debut singled out the smoothness of its walking and gestures.
Unlike many recent reveals, Xiao Di was presented as a working prototype rather than a concept, and its job is deliberately narrow: greeting visitors in dealerships, guiding them around the cars on display and running product demonstrations. BYD describes the robot as support for showroom staff rather than a replacement, and has indicated that two to three units could eventually be stationed in each of its stores.
The figures released around the debut describe a machine built for talking rather than lifting: 31 degrees of freedom, dexterous hands rated at roughly a kilogram each, real-time translation across six Chinese dialects and six foreign languages, and dialogue that can be interrupted and redirected with under 1.5 s of latency. Vision covers a full 360 degrees and is said to separate people from transparent obstacles such as glass, which in a showroom full of glazing is a practical necessity rather than a boast.
The programme is a natural extension of BYD's own supply chain — the company already manufactures the batteries, electric motors and power electronics a humanoid needs — and places it in direct competition with Tesla's Optimus. Battery capacity, runtime, onboard compute and price remain undisclosed, and the robot is not offered for sale.