Morgan Stanley Comments on XPeng’s Humanoid
“XPeng Humanoids – From a side note to a finale?
Key Takeaways
- The mass production of XPeng’s humanoid ‘Iron’ by 2026 is set to unleash strategic synergies with its AI-empowered mobility.
- XPeng isn’t the first and won’t be the last carmaker exploring humanoids, which are tech-/user-adjacent for OEMs to expand in markets outside of cars.
Three-pronged growth strategies unveil the next chapter of adventure – XPeng indicated AI-empowered vehicles, global expansion, and humanoids will forge XPeng’s next stage of growth in coming years.
XPeng’s ‘IRONs’ in the fire – AI mobility could underpin XPeng’s robotics strategy as ~70% of the R&D efforts can be shared and repurposed, e.g. AI world foundation model, Turing AI chip and algo, except for the different form factors.
Tech adjacency is too strong for carmakers to ignore – Humanoids and several embodied AI features are highly relevant to the autos ecosystem that will serve as a tech springboard:
1) Data – Rich data pool with good versatility entitles carmakers to a preemptive start to developing robotics. Carmakers can collect the data on the road (autonomous driving), in the car (smart cockpit), at the factory (smart manufacturing), and above the ground (EVTOL).
2) Energy – Energy density serves as the crux of unplugging and freeing humanoids for broader boundary extension and longer working hours. Almost two-decades of auto electrification experience can tackle the challenges.
3) AI & Decision making – Self-driving has been pushing the boundaries of machine learning and behavior prediction. Massive simulation platforms built by auto OEM can also be repurposed for humanoid training.
4) Manufacturing – The advantage of a scalable auto supply chain is self-evident.”
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