Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker XPeng said on Thursday that its artificial intelligence software and training updates will enter a “super-fast cycle” from May and hopes that operate of its platform will expand to other Asian countries and Europe.
In comments made at a press conference on the opening day of the Beijing auto show, He Xiaopeng, founder and CEO of the German Volkswagen-backed carmaker, said the software would be updated with updates every two months.
“I believe XPeng will far outperform all Chinese rivals in autonomous driving technology this year,” he said.
While rival Chinese automakers cut costs in the face of a price war, XPeng has pledged to invest heavily in technological innovation as buyers in the world’s largest auto market increasingly look for more high-tech features when choosing cars.
In February, XPeng said it planned to hire 4,000 people this year and invest 3.5 billion yuan ($482 million) in artificial intelligence for shrewd driving technology.
He also said he hoped the shrewd electric vehicle being developed by Xpeng under its novel “Mona” brand would sell better than Xiaomi’s SU7 in the second half of this year, and that Xpeng planned to pre-sell the flying car in the fourth quarter.
XPeng, one of China’s best-selling electric vehicle startups, has named Volkswagen as a shareholder after the German carmaker invested around $700 million in exchange for a 4.99% stake.
Volkswagen said it has developed a novel shrewd and electric car architecture with Xpeng that will support the German carmaker offer cheaper models.
