Small Cars Will Be Artificially Intelligent (in China) Under a New XPeng Brand Coming Soon

The Chinese company has set an ambitious goal of becoming the first brand to offer mass-produced AI and vehicle cognitive assistant. The launch is slated for this year – without a precise timeline – which also marks the tenth anniversary of XPeng.

The aim is not to integrate advanced computing power into cars and allow them to drive themselves, rendering occupants to mere commuter status, but the specific application of that technology. The Chinese company aims to plant the flag in the affordable car market (meaning vehicles priced between 100,000 to 150,000 yuan / $14,000 to $21,000), the basis of China’s passenger car segment.

With over 8 million cars sold yearly, the share of passenger vehicles ranging in price from 100,000 to 150,000 yuan accounted for approximately 34% of the market last year. That’s a 3% increase over 2022. The lower-value segment is well below the usual 200,000-300,000-yuan range ($28,000 to $42,000), where EV makers place the bulk of their products.

The target for the yet-unnamed brand under the XPeng umbrella is to create the first AI-assisted-driving car for young people. XPeng’s CEO said the car will be an A-class Smart EV, followed by multiple models featuring various levels of autonomy and intelligent driving capabilities. The Chinese maker cited predictions that foresee a 50% market penetration rate by cars with at least L2-level ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems).

XPeng is one of China’s most supportive auto companies for smart driving technologies, so implementing its platform to a broader spectrum of cars is the next logical step. On February 29, the manufacturer released the unlimited XPeng Navigation Guided Pilot (XNGP) ADAS function. Intended for ‘experienced users,’ the auto-pilot version covers all roads in China – cities and highways.

In September 2022, XPeng launched the XNGP feature in Guangzhou to test the functionality of the smart driving platform. Nine months later, in June 2023, the company expanded the coverage to four other cities (Shenzhen, Foshan, Shanghai and Beijing). The feature became available on December 29 last year for drivers from 52 cities. Four days later, on January 2 this year, the list increased four-fold to 243.

On January 30, He Xiaopeng, XPeng's chairman and CEO, announced that point-to-point XNGP capabilities in China will arrive this year, with additional coverage for internal roads and parking lots. The Chinese carmaker plans to expand its XNGP system worldwide, first by releasing highway NGP in 2024, followed by global exposure in 2025. XPeng says this project's 2024 Research and Development expenditures amount to 3.5 billion yuan (around $485 million).