The robotics industry is rapidly developing in China, even without regard for the initiatives of American billionaire Elon Musk, who is seriously betting on the production of humanoid robots Optimus. Chinese automakers are also trying to create their own humanoid robots, and the XPeng startup is no exception. Over the next 20 years, it is ready to invest $13.8 billion in this area.
Image source: Xpeng
The corresponding statements by the company’s founder He Xiaopeng are cited by Reuters with reference to the publication of the Chinese edition of Securities Times. The head of the startup spoke before the Chinese parliament, stating that although XPeng’s current investment amounts in the field of robotics may seem insignificant, in the next 20 years this business will continue to develop and will receive another $6.9 billion to $13.8 billion in investments. The founder did not specify how much the company has already invested in the creation of humanoid robots, but noted that it has already been working on their creation for five years.
Last November, XPeng introduced its humanoid robot Iron, which, following the example of Tesla Optimus, learns to perform primitive operations at the company’s factories for assembling traction batteries and electric vehicles. In China, even smaller automakers are investing in the creation of robots. Leapmotor, whose shareholder has recently been the transnational concern Stellantis, has already begun developing robots, hiring several dozen specialists for this purpose. In the future, these robots should replace people at the company’s car assembly plants. According to the head of XPeng, automakers only need to invest $277 million a year in the creation of robots to effectively introduce humanoid robots.