The automotive category will gradually evolve from software defined cars to the era of AI defined cars. "At the Xiaopeng Automotive Technology Day held on October 24th, Xiaopeng Automotive Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng expressed his views on the development direction of automotive intelligence.
On that day, Xiaopeng Automobile showcased multiple technological achievements in one breath, which, in the words of Xiaopeng Automobile, was "full of dry goods". In the current situation where Xiaopeng Automobile is showing signs of decline and market performance is sluggish, whether playing the "technology card" again can help it sweep through the downturn and return to the right track, and continue to secure a position as the head of new car manufacturing forces, has become the most concerned issue in the industry.
Want to enter the second half first with no map intelligent driving
At the "1024 Technology Day" of Xiaopeng Automobile, Xiaopeng Automobile stated that it has deeply applied the large model to multiple business sectors and technology research and development fields, and demonstrated its latest progress in multiple fields such as intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit, electric drive system, electronic and electrical, intelligent manufacturing, flying cars, robots, etc., further strengthening Xiaopeng's "technology" label in the new forces of car manufacturing.
Among them, the XNGP intelligent driving assistance system of Xiaopeng Automobile, which has received more attention from the industry, is a phased achievement display of Xiaopeng Automobile's transition from relying on high-precision map assisted intelligent driving to relying on weak map based single car intelligence.
Against the backdrop of intelligence becoming the main theme of the automotive track, urban intelligent driving has entered the stage of urban racing.
Since the beginning of this year, the city level automatic navigation and driving function has gradually ushered in a wave of mass production and installation. Not only Xiaopeng Automobile, but also several car companies such as Ideal Automobile, Zhizhi Automobile, Avita, and Celes have announced plans to implement the urban autonomous driving assisted navigation function. Therefore, how car companies layout high-precision maps around the development of automotive intelligence has gradually become a focus of industry attention.
Unlike highway sections, more and more car companies are leaning towards high-precision map technology when developing urban autonomous driving assistance navigation functions. This is because initially this technology was a necessary condition for achieving advanced autonomous driving. As a catalyst for autonomous driving technology, high-precision maps can greatly improve the intelligence of cars. However, as the development progress becomes faster and faster, the problem of enterprises relying excessively on high-precision maps for centralized firepower layout and intelligent driving development is also exposed.
For autonomous driving, high-precision maps require extremely high accuracy and real-time updates, which require a large amount of manpower, material resources, and financial investment. At the same time, due to the significant differences in the collection and production costs of different regions and roads, this also brings certain difficulties to the promotion and application of high-precision maps. "Technology industry analyst Gao Zhenglin pointed out to reporters from Huaxia Times: At present, high-precision maps still have limitations such as low update frequency and insufficient coverage. Due to strict supervision, high-precision maps only cover some sections of highways, expressways, and six cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Chongqing. Especially in complex road systems and urban internal roads, high-precision maps cannot accurately reflect road conditions, environmental characteristics, and other situations If autonomous driving excessively relies on high-precision maps, it not only reduces the actual availability of autonomous driving but also increases the risk of accidents
Xiaopeng Automobile adopts the XNGP urban intelligent driving with a light map solution, which is not limited to the use range and update time of high-precision maps, and precisely avoids the main drawbacks of high-precision maps.
Li Liyun, the person in charge of autonomous driving at Xiaopeng Automobile, confidently stated on the Technology Day scene, "The XNGP urban navigation assisted driving that can be driven nationwide will help Xiaopeng Automobile 'enter the second half first'
The Xiaopeng XNGP system has the technical capability to support urban intelligent driving nationwide. After completing engineering testing and verification, it can be fully pushed in batches to open cities according to user coverage and travel needs. The reporter from China Times learned from Xiaopeng Automobile that the urban navigation assistance driving function in areas without high-precision maps will be opened to 20 cities in the first phase, increasing to 50 cities within the year; The AI proxy driving function will launch small-scale testing and be open to some users this year.
At the press conference, He Xiaopeng set a "flag": to challenge the goal of achieving full coverage of XNGP in major urban road networks (including Class 1-4 roads) in China by 2024.
Need new growth points to win the 'turnaround battle'
According to He Xiaopeng, Xiaopeng Automobile has invested over 3 billion yuan in the field of intelligent driving. He predicts that there will be explosive growth in the advanced assisted driving market in 2025. In these 5 years, intelligent driving technology has gradually been cultivated and improved, and I believe the market will undergo significant changes in 2025
One important reason why Xiaopeng Automobile has invested heavily in consolidating its technological foundation is that it urgently needs to win a "turnaround battle". Automotive industry analyst Wang Kun told China Times: "Xiaopeng Automobile has reached a critical moment of development. Through continuous technological innovation and product upgrades, Xiaopeng Automobile can maintain a leading position in the fierce market competition and achieve sustainable development
Since the launch of the old G9 in May last year, it has encountered a "Waterloo", and Xiaopeng Motors has also entered a "darkest moment". Not only is it difficult to reach the top of the sales charts of previous new forces, but it is also gradually breaking away from the top tier.
The shadow has also continued to affect Xiaopeng Automobile's "gold absorption" ability this year. According to the financial report, in the first half of 2023, Xiaopeng Automobile achieved a revenue of 9.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 38.9%; Among them, the sales revenue of automobiles was 7.94 billion yuan, a decrease of 43% compared to 13.94 billion yuan in the same period last year.
In terms of sales performance, the cumulative delivery volume of Xiaopeng Automobile in the first three quarters of this year still decreased by 17.36% year-on-year, reaching 81400 units, no longer in the top three sales positions of New Forces and ranking fourth.
Under such pressure, Xiaopeng Automobile initiated the largest organizational restructuring since its establishment in October last year. Nowadays, He Xiaopeng also focuses almost all his energy on products, technology, and costs. After numerous technological achievements on the Technology Day, He Xiaopeng left the finale to the first MPV - X9.
Because Xiaopeng Automobile and He Xiaopeng are well aware that even the best technology must be reflected in products, and sales are the lifeline of automotive enterprises. Only by winning the market can we usher in a turning point.
Against the backdrop of the overall saturation of the new energy vehicle market, the relatively niche high-end new energy MPV market is gradually emerging with a blue ocean trend. According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, from January to September 2023, the retail sales of MPVs in the domestic market increased by 18% year-on-year, achieving strong growth under the effect of new product increment, far surpassing sedans and SUVs. Among them, the B-class and above models in the MPV market increased by 40%. According to data from Autohome Research Institute, the proportion of new energy followers in the MPV segment market has increased from 6.1% in 2021 to 16.3% in 2023.
The significant market potential of MPV is precisely the new growth point sought by Xiaopeng Automobile. The X9 is built based on a rotary architecture, eliminating LiDAR and applying rear wheel steering technology and the latest generation of Tianji intelligent cockpit. He Xiaopeng said that the X9 will be the world's first MPV with rear wheel steering technology.
In Wang Kun's view, the launch of X9 will attract more customer groups, increase user stickiness, and further seize market share for Xiaopeng Automobile. After all, compared to the sedan and SUV markets, the competition in the current MPV market is relatively small, and there is still room for entry. Although there are already some products on sale in the new energy MPV market, the overall number of benchmark products in the segmented market still needs to be expanded. The earlier you enter, the better you can seize the opportunity. Moreover, compared to other MPV models, the price is higher, which not only further demonstrates Xiaopeng's strength and innovation ability in the field of new energy vehicles, improves the brand image, but also brings more abundant profits to Xiaopeng Automobile.
X9 is a major move for Xiaopeng Automobile. However, after gaining a series of technological achievements and entering the MPV market, whether Xiaopeng Automobile can overcome its decline and break out of He Xiaopeng's expected trend still needs time and market verification, "said Wang Kun.