He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPeng Group, stated that a diverse and competitive market is beneficial, and he welcomes the development of various technological approaches. However, the ultimate goal should focus on ensuring safety and gradually increasing the distance between driver interventions—from hundreds to thousands or even tens of thousands of kilometers—to genuinely enhance user experience.
On April 16, He made these remarks during an interview with media outlets, including The Paper, addressing the recent debate over autonomous driving development pathways. Earlier, Jin Yuzhi, Senior Vice President of Huawei and CEO of Yinwang Company, publicly argued that L3 is an essential intermediate stage toward achieving full L4 and L5 autonomy and cannot be skipped. In contrast, companies such as XPeng, Tesla, and Baidu, along with scholars like Ouyang Minggao, advocate advancing directly to L4. This has reignited industry-wide discussion on whether it is necessary to bypass L3.
He Xiaopeng pointed out that neither L3 nor L4 are strictly commercial classifications; they originated as technical categories without full consideration for commercial implementation. In his view, the safest path for intelligent driving is to evolve directly from L2 to L4. This approach allows for the accumulation of sufficient data, prioritizes safety, and facilitates the improvement of relevant policies and regulations.
He emphasized that advanced driver-assistance systems should not only address baseline performance but also tackle higher-level challenges. The core capability of L4 lies in achieving fully unmanned driving while ensuring safety. If a system only guarantees safety without enabling full autonomy, it essentially remains within the L2 category.
Based on his assessment of the industry, He has also incorporated L4-level high-end autonomous driving capabilities into consumer passenger vehicles. At the XPeng GX technology launch event on the evening of April 15, He introduced the GX as XPeng’s first full-size flagship SUV. The model integrates cutting-edge technologies such as Robotaxi autonomous driving, safety redundancies from flying cars, embodied intelligence chips, and architecture. It is the first vehicle built on XPeng’s new-generation physical AI architecture, SEPA 3.0, and represents the culmination of the group’s technological achievements.
He stressed that the XPeng GX is the "first mass-produced Robotaxi model with full in-house development," designed entirely according to L4 autonomous driving standards.
High standards often come with high costs. When asked whether building a passenger vehicle to Robotaxi production requirements would significantly increase cost pressures, He responded that L4-level Robotaxi systems require additional redundancies—such as computing power and perception redundancies—compared to private cars. While computing and perception redundancies may offer limited value in private vehicles, redundancies in braking, steering, door handles, and communication are beneficial to all car owners.
Regarding the competition among new automakers in the large SUV segment, He expressed that all players aim to strengthen the market. Although Chinese automotive brands are thriving, their market share in the above-300,000-yuan segment may still need improvement. He emphasized the need for Chinese automakers to pursue high-quality development.
He noted that in a competitive environment, some companies focus on products, others on services, while XPeng emphasizes technological differentiation and global deployment. Each company brings unique strengths and products to serve the market. The shared goal, he said, is to foster healthy competition that expands and improves the entire industry.