Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng is positioning humanoid robots as a long-term strategic project, with potential investments reaching up to 100 billion yuan ($13.8 billion), CEO He Xiaopeng revealed during the annual parliamentary session, Reuters reported.
He stated that while the company’s current investment remains conservative, Xpeng is prepared to significantly scale up its funding as it deepens its presence in the sector, the Securities Times reported.
“Xpeng has been working in the humanoid robot industry for five years and may continue for another 20 years, potentially investing an additional 50 billion to 100 billion yuan,” He said, though he did not disclose the company’s current level of investment.
The Guangzhou-based automaker entered the humanoid robotics space in 2020 and unveiled its first humanoid robot, Iron, in November—positioning it as a competitor to Tesla’s Optimus Bot. Xpeng is among a growing number of automakers venturing into humanoid robotics, aligning with China’s push for technological breakthroughs in the field.
Other automakers are also exploring humanoid robots for industrial applications. Leapmotor, backed by global carmaker Stellantis, has established a robotics team focused on pre-research, CEO Zhu Jiangming told reporters. Leapmotor aims to integrate robots into factory settings to improve efficiency by replacing human labor in assembly lines.
According to He, automakers could invest 1-2 billion yuan annually in deploying humanoid robots in applicable industrial scenarios, as reported by Economic View.
