Chinese carmaker XPeng has reportedly resumed development of its robotaxi project last week, just days before its upcoming Technology Day event on Wednesday, November 5.
According to the Chinese media outlet ’21世纪经济报道’, the company has begun transferring internal staff as it prepares to start mass production of the L4 vehicles next year.
Citing a source familiar with the matter, the media outlet wrote that XPeng‘s spent “heavily to recruit a top figure from a well-known L4 autonomous driving company to lead it.”
As reported earlier this month, the company has also appointed a new head of its Autonomous Driving Center after Li Liyun switched to another role within XPeng.
XPeng’s Models to Integrate Software
While initially considering designing a dedicated Robotaxi vehicle, XPeng is now planning to use existing in-development models for pilot operations and commercial deployment, according to the report.
The approach will lead to more cost-effectiveness, with the company being able to focus most of the investment “toward software and algorithm talent, since hardware reuse is high,” the source said.
XPeng teased the announcement Tuesday on social media, posting an image of a driverless P7+ with a passenger in the rear seat.
The poster’s “Robotaxi Worldwide” tagline suggests the company plans to deploy the service beyond China to international markets.
Most autonomous driving companies follow a retrofit approach — they buy vehicles from automakers and modify them to install their Level 4 (L4) self-driving software.
US rival Tesla is preparing to start production of its dedicated robotaxi model — named Cybercab — while using Model Ys for the first phase of the launch.
The project will involve two SUV models from XPeng‘s lineup, one for each step.
According to the sources, “the early testing phase will use the high-end model.”
The source added that during the initial testing phase, the brand will operate its Robotaxi fleet on its own.
If the tests are unsuccessful or problems occur, they will then look for partners to work with on further commercialization efforts.
This marks a shift from last year, when XPeng‘s CEO said the company would “not get involved in operations,” suggesting that it planned to collaborate with partners from the get-go.
Previous Developments
XPeng‘s first attempt to integrate Robotaxi capabilities into production vehicles was made three years ago, with the G9 SUV.
Despite having received a road testing permit in Guangzhou for intelligent connected vehicles in the following year, the robotaxi launch was delayed.
Earlier this year, when answering a question from EV on updates of the robotaxi development, the company’s founder and CEO He Xiaopeng refrained from detailing a timeline, hinting that the 2026 target was not on the table anymore.
However, the CEO then reaffirmed the guidance on the company’s latest earnings call last September, stating that XPeng plans to launch a robotaxi service in China in 2026 alongside its first mass-produced Level-4 autonomous vehicles.
