The Xpeng G9 SUV is on display throughout the twentieth Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition on the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, April 18, 2023.
VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images
Xpeng plans to rent 4,000 recent people and put money into artificial intelligence technology, in keeping with the corporate’s CEO, who warned of intense competition in the electrical vehicle space which could end in a “bloodbath.”
He Xiaopeng, the CEO of EV maker Xpeng, said in a letter to employees on Sunday, which was reviewed by CNBC, that the corporate will invest a complete of three.5 billion Chinese yuan ($486.2 million) within the research and development of artificial intelligence technology focused on “intelligent driving.”
Xpeng has a driver assistance system called Xpilot which allows its cars to perform some functions semi-autonomously.
The CEO also said Xpeng intends to launch around 30 recent or upgraded cars over the following three years.
This yr, the firm will launch its first models in the value segment of over 300,000 yuan and at 150,000 yuan.
After a tricky begin to last yr, Xpeng’s deliveries have picked up. Deliveries are the closest approximation to sales for carmakers.
Xpeng, like other electric carmakers, has been battling in a price competition in China which was sparked by Tesla. Meanwhile, China’s economy has remained under pressure with consumers remaining cautious.
Xiaopeng struck an optimistic tone saying the corporate has “bottomed out and charted a path that distinguishes” it from industry rivals.
Nonetheless, he did acknowledge the extreme competition ahead.
“This yr also marks the start of a fierce competition that will end in a ‘bloodbath’ (or as I prefer to call it, the brutal ‘knockout round’) amongst Chinese auto makers,” Xiaopeng wrote in the worker memo.
“XPeng has engaged on this cutthroat competition right from the outset, thus accumulating considerable experience. Our guts, grit and perseverance, I firmly consider, will lead us to victory.”
