Robotics has become one of the businesses Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng most needs to focus on in the second half of the year.
On June 5, Shi Xiaoxin, the top product executive at Xpeng’s robotics business, resigned. Five days later, He sent an internal letter to all employees, announcing that he would personally serve as CEO of the robotics business, just as the unit appeared to be nearing mass production and commercialization.
Part of the pressure comes from targets Xpeng has already made public. In May, He held a robotics mass production mobilization meeting with more than 1,000 attendees alongside Vice President Gu Jie and robotics center head Mi Liangchuan. In addition to setting a clear target of achieving mass production of humanoid robots by the end of 2026, He emphasized Xpeng’s position as the only company in China with full-stack in-house R&D across chips, operating systems, joints, dexterous hands, and other components.
For the team, that also means a level of difficulty and pressure higher than that of many peers.
He moved quickly. On June 26, 21st Century Business Herald reported on Xpeng’s new organizational structure for its robotics center, which includes nine secondary departments. Gu Jie, Liu Xianming, and Yu Tao were appointed as the three department heads. The vacancy left by Shi’s departure from the product department will be filled personally by He, who began his career as a product manager.
