XPENG Opens Its Tech Stack to Global Partners at Paris Automotive Summit

What XPENG AI Engineering offers

The keynote was titled "Navigating the AI Era: Open Collaboration for a Smarter Future." Mr. He argued that no single manufacturer holds all the advantages needed for the next generation of smart mobility, and said XPENG is therefore opening its tech stack and engineering resources to key international partners.

According to the company, the offer covers proprietary technologies and engineering toolchains across several areas:

• Vehicle platforms and E/E architecture
• Batteries and e-drives
• Modular innovations such as the AI BOX, the Turing AI chip and the Turing physical world foundation model

XPENG describes the model as built around complementary strengths, flexible collaboration and independent innovation. The aim, it says, is to let partners co-develop differentiated products while building their own technology capabilities over time.

"Partnership starts with trust, and after trust comes openness," Mr. He said, according to the release.

Driving software and the IRON humanoid robot

XPENG presents itself as a Physical AI company with full-stack technologies spanning chips, models and applications across intelligent vehicles, robotaxis, humanoid robots and flying cars. In intelligent driving, the company highlighted NGP powered by VLA 2.0. XPENG says the system is designed to advance directly from L2 to L4 and to deliver the same core capability in China and Europe. The company is preparing to bring advanced intelligent driving to global markets in 2027.

For its humanoid robot, IRON, XPENG gave a timeline: mass production targeted for late 2026, deliveries beginning in the first half of 2027, and a European rollout planned for the second half of 2027.

XPENG also pointed to its strategic collaboration with Volkswagen Group as an example of the approach. It combines XPENG's intelligent-driving and software capabilities with Volkswagen's vehicle engineering and testing expertise. The company said it invested approximately €770 million in R&D in the first half of 2026.

The European commitment

Mr. He also reaffirmed XPENG's "In Europe, For Europe, With Europe" commitment, which centers on producing in Europe, designing for European users and partnering with the region's industrial ecosystem. According to XPENG, it has put four models into production in Europe within one year: the G6, G9, P7+ and the latest G9L.

The company's European R&D center acts as a hub for several tasks: EU homologation and certification, language and interaction localization, intelligent-driving validation, European chassis and handling tuning, and charging-network integration. XPENG says it continues to work with local partners as it expands its capabilities in the region.

What it means for the industry

The announcement signals that XPENG wants to be a technology supplier and co-development partner as well as a carmaker, with the Volkswagen collaboration cited as its proof point. Automakers weighing outside AI, chip or platform technology now have a defined offer from XPENG, though the release does not give commercial terms or name further partners. The dates for NGP and IRON are targets set by the company, not confirmed milestones.