PREVIEW

BY MARK WORGAN

Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng says it has beaten Elon Musk to build the world's first advanced general-purpose humanoid robot that can autonomously walk off its production line after being manufactured.

XPeng said its new facilities are the first automated production lines designed for advanced humanoid robots.

More than 80% of core production processes are automated, according to XPeng, which said the system had been designed to support both high-precision manufacturing and rapid expansion in production capacity.

He Xiaopeng, Chairman & CEO of XPENG, said: "The robot production lines were created from scratch with no precedent to follow. Today's step is small, but XPENG is building the production lines for an entirely new product category. Looking ahead, XPENG will continue to explore faster production rhythms and greater scale in robot manufacturing, charting a new path toward a leading robot manufacturing industry in China and globally."

The production lines form part of XPeng's wider strategy in what it calls "Physical AI", which focuses on bringing artificial intelligence into machines capable of interacting with the physical world.

The company's next-generation IRON robot is being developed as a general-purpose humanoid platform.

XPeng says the robot combines human-like movement with artificial intelligence and has been designed to meet high safety standards.

The company said IRON could support a wide range of applications and improve through learning and interaction in real-world environments.

According to XPeng, the robot has 76 degrees of freedom across its body and 21 in each hand, allowing for a wide range of movement and dexterity.

It is powered by three of the company's Turing AI chips, providing up to 2,250 TOPS — or trillion operations per second — of computing power.

XPeng said the computing capability would allow its Physical AI foundation model to run directly on the robot, enabling it to carry out complex tasks without remote operation.

The company also said this approach could reduce response times and improve data security.

Mr He said, "We aim to build a new type of robot with full generalization capabilities that can truly become part of everyday life, create a better life for people, and ultimately become a companion in their lives."

He also placed a staff badge on IRON, symbolising what XPeng said was the robot's official entry into the company's team.

XPeng said it expected its robots to enter mass production by the end of the year.

Initial commercial deployments are planned for the company's own stores and campuses, with a wider market launch and deliveries in China and overseas expected in 2027 - beating Tesla’s Optimus robot into mass production.