SHANGHAI, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Tesla on Monday

told customers in China it will update the "Autopilot" software

in their cars to add driving-assistance features for navigating

city streets.

The U.S. electric vehicle maker, in a notification on its

app, said capabilities will include automatic lane-changing

depending on speed and route as well as detecting traffic lights

at intersections and deciding whether to turn. An in-car camera

will also monitor driver attention, it said.

The features are similar to those available with Tesla's

"Full Self-Driving" (FSD) but less advanced than what are

available in the United States due to insufficient data training

on Chinese roads and traffic rules, a person with direct

knowledge of the matter said.

FSD is a suite of driving-assistance technologies developed

with generative artificial intelligence to cope with more

complicated traffic conditions whereas Autopilot handles more

routine conditions.

Technology restrictions imposed by both the U.S. and Chinese

governments had put Tesla "in a bit of a bind" in deploying FSD,

CEO Elon Musk said in an earnings briefing last month.

Tesla has been using videos of Chinese streets available on

the internet to train its AI software as the U.S. prohibits

on-site training in China, Musk said.

The automaker had aimed to bring full Autopilot and FSD

systems to China by the end of 2024 but postponed to this year.

Domestic rivals have already deployed advanced autonomous

driving features. This month, BYD started offering such features

on most of its models including those priced as low as $9,555.

Tesla's lowest price in China is about $32,400.

Tesla will deploy the update in batches to customers who

paid 64,000 yuan ($8,830) for the limited FSD currently

available, Bloomberg reported.

Under industry standards, both Autopilot and FSD are

categorised as level 2 autonomous driving so under Chinese law

require human supervision and intervention when necessary.

($1 = 7.2476 Chinese yuan renminbi)