Chinese car firm BYD to install a surprising feature in its new models – but will it put you on a Highway to Hell?

Car manufacturers are constantly coming up with ingenious – and sometimes less ingenious – features for their new models.

From Tesla’s built-in whoopee cushion function that can cause each seat to emit a sound that simulates wind breaking to embarrass passengers, to BMW’s latest 5 Series that transforms into a gaming console on wheels, car brands are constantly expanding the capabilities of their vehicles , away from just driving from A to B.

And a Chinese brand has recently confirmed that it will install a new feature in all its new models in the coming years that is sure to divide motorists in Britain.

BYD, one of the world’s largest makers of electric vehicles, has teamed up with a Canadian technology company to sell its future cars with a new accessory: a microphone.

That’s right, you could soon own a car with a karaoke machine built in.

BYD and Stingray – a leading music, media and technology company – have partnered in a new deal that sees all of its new models installed with its karaoke product as an embedded app.

It gives access to the company’s huge international song catalog, which can be searched by title, artist, lyrics or genre.

The system is likely to offer a much wider range of hits to choose from compared to Tesla’s own ‘Caraoke’ system, which is a sub-menu option in the media player in some UK cars.

It also includes BYD branded microphones that are compatible with the system.

The Chinese brand says it will be available in 2023 in the Chinese brand’s popular models sold in a dozen countries, with the rest to follow in subsequent years.

The screen shows the lyrics of a variety of hits from different countries, but for safety reasons this is turned off when the vehicle is on the move

BYD – which stands for Build Your Dreams – has already introduced its first British model: the Atto 3 electric family SUV, which we drove earlier this year. It costs from £36,490 and has a range of 260 miles.

Stella Li, BYD executive vice president and CEO of BYD Americas confirmed the new role, saying, “BYD is fully committed to providing the highest quality entertainment experiences for all of our customers around the world.

“In partnership with Stingray, we are excited to make driving BYD cars more fun and social than ever before. Everyone likes to sing in the car.

“Stingray’s unique Karaoke app and extensive song library are a great fit for BYD drivers and their passengers.”

However, to ensure that the feature is not abused and that the driver does not look away from the road to keep up with Queen’s wordsI am in love with my car‘, TThe scrolling karaoke lyrics on the center console are turned off while the car is in drive mode.

But a Passenger App will be available that will allow others in the car to use their mobile devices to view lyrics, control song selection, fast-forward, skip forward and more while audio plays through the car’s sound system .

The Atto 3 is BYD’s first model, launched in the UK earlier this year, with prices starting at £36,490

While the idea of ​​this feature has some British drivers on a Highway to hellit is already hugely popular in vehicles sold exclusively in China, where the pastime is so beloved that some karaoke clubs are open 24 hours a day and shopping malls have installed booths for people to sing along to.

Last year, Tesla capitalized on China’s obsession with karaoke by offering a pair of “TeslaMic” microphones.

These were only available in China at a price of $188, and the popularity was so great that they sold out within an hour, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Tesla has a ‘Caraoke’ feature in some of its models, but only these compatible microphones were made available in China last year

Despite a pair costing the equivalent of $188, they sold out in under an hour, that’s how popular karaoke – or KTV – is in China

And karaoke – or KTV in China – apps are already available in other Chinese brands, including Nio, Weltmeister and XPeng.

Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury arm, also has a karaoke app in its QX60 sold in the Chinese market, which can record the users’ voices through the car’s built-in microphone or a handheld microphone connected to the car’s USB port. the car is connected.

However, this feature is not activated on models sold in other countries.