Chinese automotive giant XPeng has opened the door to a new era in autonomous driving technologies. The company introduced its first robotaxi, which was put into mass production at its factory in Guangzhou. Thus, for the first time in China, a manufacturer started producing robotaxi on a completely industrial scale.
The vehicle, developed entirely in-house by XPeng, was built on the brand’s new generation GX platform. The company announced that the robotaxi was designed in accordance with Level 4 (L4) autonomous driving standards. This level ensures that the vehicle can move without human intervention in certain conditions.
The vehicle, which was first announced in November 2025, received road test clearance in Guangzhou in January 2026 in the “smart connected vehicle” category. Then, public testing processes started.
Artificial Intelligence and Camera System Instead of LiDAR
The most important detail that attracted attention in XPeng’s robotaxi technology was that it did not use LiDAR sensors. The vehicle works with a completely camera-based imaging system and large language model (LLM) supported artificial intelligence infrastructure. This approach is similar to the system used in Tesla models.
The artificial intelligence model called “VLA 2.0” developed by the company eliminates the language translation process in the traditional three-stage “Vision-Language-Action” architecture. According to XPeng, this reduces the response time of the system to less than 80 milliseconds. It also offers advanced driving capability that can quickly adapt between different cities and countries.
Operation Target Without Security Officers in 2027
XPeng plans to launch pilot robotaxi operations in the second half of 2026. The company’s goal is; to test the commercial viability of the technology, customer interest and business model in the field.
After the pilot process, it is aimed to switch to fully autonomous commercial operations without security guards by the beginning of 2027. The company also announced that it will open the software development kit (SDK) for its robotaxi ecosystem to external developers. Amap, one of China’s leading mapping and navigation platforms, will be its first global business partner.
Competition Is Intensifying in the Autonomous Vehicle Race
As autonomous vehicle competition accelerates in the global automotive industry as of the end of 2025, XPeng’s mass production move is considered a critical threshold in the industry. For now, the company has not made an official statement about whether robotaxi will be offered to markets outside China.
Automobile Magazine – English News
Source link 2026-05-24 16:28:00
