Media365
Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng says it will roll out robotaxi services using Alibaba Group Holding’s mapping service Amap in 2026 as it applies artificial intelligence capabilities to marketable services and products.
Three robotaxi models, along with a humanoid robot and two flying cars, would be the latest Xpeng products to woo consumers by applying its new vision language action (VLA) AI model, said He Xiaopeng, Xpeng chairman and CEO, on Wednesday.
Xpeng’s driverless vehicles would be able to navigate difficult scenarios, such as narrow roads, thanks to the improved AI, he said at the company’s headquarters in Guangzhou in southern China’s Guangdong province.
Both companies, along with rival firms, believe robotaxis will become a trillion-dollar business.
Xpeng’s partnership with Amap would allow mainland users to hail self-driving taxis via Alibaba’s mapping app, Amap CEO Guo Ning said. Alibaba owns the Post.
He said on Wednesday that the company chose Amap because it was his former employer. He joined Alibaba in 2014 after he sold his venture UCWeb to the internet giant, and departed three years later. Yu Yongfu, the CEO of UCWeb, headed Amap for 10 years until 2024.
