On May 20, Xpeng officially unveiled its first full-size, cutting-edge flagship SUV, the Xpeng GX, heralding a new era in automotive technology.

Image Source: Xpeng

At the press conference following the launch, He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of Xpeng, Liu Xianming, Head of the General Intelligence Center, and Wu Anfei, General Manager of the Product Matrix, engaged in a lively dialogue with the media.

A journalist inquired whether Xpeng, which has embraced a pure vision-based strategy, feels any pressure as an increasing number of models priced over RMB 150,000 are equipped with LiDAR technology.

He Xiaopeng confidently responded, "We are not under any pressure." He emphasized that LiDAR is no longer a must-have in the automotive industry, a stance that Xpeng firmly adheres to, despite its continued relevance in various other sectors.

Liu Xianming further elaborated that the necessity of LiDAR hinges on a company's technological framework, with no definitive answer. For users, the essence of autonomous driving lies in its real-world performance, rather than the sensor setup. Xpeng's decision to forgo LiDAR is grounded in the actual capabilities of its second-generation Vision-Language-Action (VLA) system, which excels in extreme weather, low-light conditions, and complex driving scenarios by leveraging high computational power, advanced models, and a dense array of sensors.

Xpeng's ultimate vision is to evolve from a "smart electric vehicle company" into a "physical AI technology company." To realize this ambition, the company has developed a fully in-house technology system centered around embodied intelligence—the Xpeng Physical AI System. This system is not reliant on a single hardware component or model but is a synergistic engineering system that integrates chips, architecture, large models, simulation, and safety redundancy. Its key components include the SEPA 3.0 Physical AI Vehicle Architecture, the second-generation VLA large model, Turing AI chips, the X-World world model, and the X-Cache acceleration engine, covering four major application domains: smart vehicles, Robotaxi, humanoid robots, and flying cars.

In March of this year, Xpeng formally established its Robotaxi business unit to oversee the entire lifecycle of product definition, R&D testing, and operations, thereby expediting its commercial rollout. On May 18, the first mass-produced Robotaxi rolled off the assembly line in Guangzhou, with demonstration operations slated to commence in the latter half of this year. This milestone signifies Xpeng's transition from R&D to large-scale deployment of physical AI, with a new commercial growth trajectory beginning to emerge.

The Xpeng GX serves as the prototype for the Robotaxi, incorporating Robotaxi-level intelligent driving capabilities. It is powered by four self-developed Turing AI chips, delivering an unprecedented 3000 TOPS of effective computing power, the highest in the global automotive industry. Additionally, it features Xpeng's second-generation VLA large model, enabling Level 4 autonomous driving capabilities.

The vehicle offers two powertrain choices: pure electric and extended-range electric, with a total of eight configurations. The limited-time promotional prices for the pure electric version range from RMB 269,800 to RMB 349,800, while the extended-range electric version is priced between RMB 279,800 and RMB 349,800.

On May 21, Xpeng proudly announced that it had received 24,863 mass reservations for the Xpeng GX within just 12 hours of its launch.

Judging by its strategic deployment and rapid execution, Xpeng is steadily advancing towards its goal of becoming a "pioneer in mobility within the physical AI realm," achieving technological parity, and integrating advanced intelligent driving and robotics into the fabric of everyday life.