I see Lidar everywhere on the news or while browsing Chinese cars. But when I look at the cars sold in Thailand, the Lidar is no longer there.

Even the current luxury models from Zeekr, Avatr and Denza lack the Lidar from their Chinese counterparts.

The only one I could find that has it is (but not in the front?) the much more expensive Lotus Eletre.

What is the big deal about adding Lidar to cars sold in Thailand? Don't say it's the cost, the new generation of the super cheap Atto 1 in China is coming with Lidar.

To what end?

I really don't want or need things added, I'm not going to use, that only increase the price and profit margin. Lidar reads like a really silly add on. Nothing wrong with the basic proximity / collisions sensor already on most cars.

Have low end MG ZS, and don't use half the features it has. Especially don't want features, like electric seats, that when they fail, will have to be fixed.

27 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

and don't use half the features it has.

Is that because you don’t understand them?

NB I’m pulling your leg

Lidar might be useful to others if , say, a BYD (something) in the right lane at 100kph could detect a vehicle approaching from behind at 110+ and be given a warning/instruction to pull into the left land an get out of the way.

Many cars now use cameras and computing for their auto emergency braking and warnings, so unless you want a self driving car, I don't see the need for lidar.

On 5/13/2026 at 11:44 AM, Kinnock said:

so unless you want a self driving car, I don't see the need for lidar.

Thanks for the input, but thinking like that we don't need electronic adjustment seats too, it could be just a lever under the seat like in the old days. Also, no one needs automatic headlights, we are all capable of manually turn it on and off as needed. These features are added because they make our experience more practical and comfortable. Despite the fact that no one actually needs it.

The lack of need for something doesn't explain why Lidar is being cut out from Thai cars, especially in luxury brands like Avatr, while BYD China puts it even in their cheapest model.

I think you need LIDAR for self-driving capability. I don't think Vision based systems will ever cut it and I think after a few fatalities you will see it mandated by regulators in order to be approved for FSD.

23 minutes ago, FarangFB said:

On 5/13/2026 at 11:44 AM, Kinnock said:

so unless you want a self driving car, I don't see the need for lidar.

Thanks for the input, but thinking like that we don't need electronic adjustment seats too, it could be just a lever under the seat like in the old days. Also, no one needs automatic headlights, we are all capable of manually turn it on and off as needed. These features are added because they make our experience more practical and comfortable. Despite the fact that no one actually needs it.

The lack of need for something doesn't explain why Lidar is being cut out from Thai cars, especially in luxury brands like Avatr, while BYD China puts it even in their cheapest model.

LiDAR would be a nice to have - but not a need to have.

ALL of the cars I've had in the past 10 years have had Radar Cruise Control (i.e. can follow the car in front at the same speed), Lane Assist (follow the lane markings), auto wipers, auto lights etc - but the driving is still 100% human.

The LiDAR is not really necessary unless we move towards genuinely self-driving cars. Even then, the biggest issue may not be the cost or efficiency of the technology itself, but legislation and liability within each country. There may well be regulations that prevent manufacturers from enabling or selling certain autonomous driving features in some markets.

There is also the issue of cost versus benefit. Traditional manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda have spent years refining radar and camera-based systems which already achieve 90% of what most drivers actually use day-to-day. For the average person, adaptive cruise control, lane centring and emergency braking are more than enough, so adding expensive LiDAR hardware often makes little commercial sense.

Chinese manufacturers, however, are treating LiDAR almost as a competitive marketing feature - similar to how phone companies once competed on megapixels. China also has large domestic LiDAR manufacturers which have driven hardware costs down significantly, making it easier for brands there to include the technology even in relatively affordable EVs.

Chinese brands also seem far more aggressive in pushing autonomous technology because their domestic market and regulatory environment are more supportive of advanced driver assistance and self-driving development. Meanwhile, markets such as Thailand still largely treat the human driver as legally responsible at all times, so there is less incentive for manufacturers to add expensive hardware that cannot yet be fully utilised. In many cases, the LiDAR hardware exists in the car, but the software functions remain restricted or disabled locally anyway.

An example of this is why more cars do not come with proper built-in dash cams as standard. I'm not talking about reversing cameras or mirror cams, but full-time 360-degree recording systems that could clearly prove fault - or lack thereof - in an accident.

Technically this would be easy to implement, but privacy and surveillance laws become a major issue. In some countries, particularly parts of Europe such as France, dash cam usage has historically faced legal restrictions or privacy complications, which I honestly find rather odd.

So ultimately, the limitation is often not the technology itself, but whether local laws, insurers, regulators and manufacturers see enough practical and legal benefit to justify the added cost and complexity.

57 minutes ago, FarangFB said:

Thanks for the input, but thinking like that we don't need electronic adjustment seats too, it could be just a lever under the seat like in the old days. Also, no one needs automatic headlights, we are all capable of manually turn it on and off as needed. These features are added because they make our experience more practical and comfortable. Despite the fact that no one actually needs it.

The lack of need for something doesn't explain why Lidar is being cut out from Thai cars, especially in luxury brands like Avatr, while BYD China puts it even in their cheapest model.

Many years ago airbags were optional in Thai cars. Many cars came as standard without them.

On 5/13/2026 at 11:41 AM, VocalNeal said:

Lidar might be useful to others if , say, a BYD (something) in the right lane at 100kph could detect a vehicle approaching from behind at 110+ and be given a warning/instruction to pull into the left land an get out of the way.

That would be awesome.... save me scaring the crappola outta them BYD mongs with me trucks horns!

Edited May 14May 14 by Ralf001

1 hour ago, FarangFB said:

Thanks for the input, but thinking like that we don't need electronic adjustment seats too, it could be just a lever under the seat like in the old days. Also, no one needs automatic headlights, we are all capable of manually turn it on and off as needed. These features are added because they make our experience more practical and comfortable. Despite the fact that no one actually needs it.

The lack of need for something doesn't explain why Lidar is being cut out from Thai cars, especially in luxury brands like Avatr, while BYD China puts it even in their cheapest model.

It's not a case of doing without features, it's that the same features can be offered in a lower cost way.

If it's not a self driving car, cameras and computing can do the same as lidar.

Why add cost and complexity, when the cameras the cars already need for it's 360' display to aid drivers can also be used for auto braking etc.

The analogy is more like saying why don't cars have acetylene lamps any more? It's because electric lights are lower cost and more efficient.

20 hours ago, Kinnock said:

Why add cost and complexity, when the cameras the cars already need for it's 360' display to aid drivers can also be used for auto braking etc.

But if it's not worth it, why is it being implemented in almost all Chinese EVs?

Sorry that I'm not convinced, but a LOT of features we see in cars nowadays are adding cost and complexity for automating very simple things that we used to do ourselves like opening/closing trunk, checking tyre pressure/temp, auto parking brake when the car stops...all these things surely add complexity and cost, why is just Lidar left out in Thailand?

47 minutes ago, FarangFB said:

But if it's not worth it, why is it being implemented in almost all Chinese EVs?

Sorry that I'm not convinced, but a LOT of features we see in cars nowadays are adding cost and complexity for automating very simple things that we used to do ourselves like opening/closing trunk, checking tyre pressure/temp, auto parking brake when the car stops...all these things surely add complexity and cost, why is just Lidar left out in Thailand?

Legislation is part of it.

Nobody sues over a dodgy boot opener, but an autonomous system that hits a pedestrian is a very different legal situation.

The laws haven't caught up with the technology, so manufacturers stay cautious. That "Caution: Hot" kettle label exists for the lawyers, not the consumer. Same logic applies here.

But it's not the main driver. LiDAR is flooding Chinese EVs because domestic suppliers crushed the cost, turning a $75,000 unit into a $200 one. It's now a cheap differentiator in a brutally competitive market.

Most global brands selling into Thailand still back camera-and-radar, and Thailand gets whatever spec the wider export market gets. That's the simple story bigger story - Most global brands selling into Thailand are still backing camera-and-radar setups, and Thailand largely receives the same spec as other export markets.

As Chinese brands push higher-trim vehicles into Southeast Asia more seriously, LiDAR will naturally follow IMO - though legislation and legal frame-working needs to keep up.

10 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

As Chinese brands push higher-trim vehicles into Southeast Asia more seriously, LiDAR will naturally follow IMO - though legislation and legal frame-working needs to keep up.

Ok this makes more sense than pure cost

Just a theory, but maybe AI and connected cars will make lidar unnecessary?

Lidar capability is viewing a car as a single, independent, self contained entity. But what if AI was used to view visual data from multiple cameras, and not only those in the car?

AI monitors the car's external 360' cameras, plus the internal cameras, plus traffic cameras, plus the cameras of cars in the immediate vicinity which are on the planned route of your car. The AI then predicts potentially hazardous situations as they start to develop and re-routes your car to avoid the accident totally.

So rather than detecting an accident as it's happening and slamming on the brakes, it avoids the hazard before you get there.

Modern cars are already sharing camera and location data with the car manufacturer, and Google Maps is also using the data from other cars to predict traffic jams, so it's not a huge leap to think this data could be used to predict and avoid hazards rather than relying on local detection to stop or steer a car.

There can be no denying that LiDAR is a superior and safer solution than vision based systems.

The question is how many extra lives are we prepared to lose by not mandating it for autonomous driving.

Legislation is often driven by catastrophe, IMHO it’s inevitable that at some point, following one (or more) catastrophic accidents, a country will mandate it for autonomous driving and the others will follow. It’s like seatbelts, antilock brakes, airbags etc.

So I think we will ultimately see it fitted in cars.