Guangzhou, China – Chinese electric car company Xpeng announced on Wednesday that by the first quarter of 2026, it will begin rolling out a new driver-assist system designed specifically for navigating narrow roads.
Xpeng claims that the new system enables cars to drive smoothly through tight streets, a feature it highlights as particularly beneficial for the European market. The company also stated that this technology significantly reduces the need for human intervention while driving.
The Chinese automaker revealed that German car manufacturer Volkswagen will be its first client as Xpeng opens the system to other automakers.
Speaking at the company’s “AI Day,” Xpeng CEO Xiaopeng He explained that the new driver-assist system builds upon Xpeng’s existing technologies for assisting drivers with parking, highway driving, and navigating city streets. He emphasized that the system requires less human intervention compared to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system and completed a test route several minutes faster.
“Next month, I will go to the U.S. to compare [Xpeng’s latest system] to FSD again,” He said in Mandarin, as translated by CNBC.
The new model is also capable of responding to traffic controllers’ hand gestures, as well as to traffic light countdowns transitioning from red to green, according to the company.
Tesla has faced challenges obtaining Beijing’s approval to roll out FSD in mainland China. In contrast, Xpeng began releasing its driver-assist technology in major Chinese cities in early 2023, quickly making the system a must-have feature for Chinese companies competing in the highly competitive domestic market.
In a move similar to Tesla’s recent expansion into robotaxi services, Xpeng announced on Wednesday plans to launch three robotaxi models next year and start testing them in Guangzhou.
https://bitcoinethereumnews.com/finance/xpeng-to-let-other-carmakers-use-its-partly-autonomous-driving-system/
