XPeng Announces 2026 Robotaxi Launch with In-House AI Chips and VLA Model
XPeng has pivoted from its earlier stance, now positioning itself as a full autonomous systems developer rather than just an electric vehicle manufacturer. The company revealed plans to launch three robotaxi models in 2026, each equipped with four proprietary Turing AI chips delivering 3,000 TOPS of computing power.
The vehicles will operate on XPeng's second-generation vision-language-action (VLA) model, designed to interpret visual inputs and execute decisions without human intervention. External displays on SUN visors will communicate vehicle speed and other data to pedestrians during testing, set to begin in Guangzhou before expanding to other Chinese cities.
Alibaba's AutoNavi mapping and Amaps ride-hailing platform will provide critical infrastructure support, integrating XPeng's autonomous fleet into existing transportation networks. Co-President Gu hinted at technological advancements surpassing Tesla's development timeline, though XPeng had previously chosen quieter promotion of these capabilities.