On February 24, the first working day following the Spring Festival holiday, XPeng Inc. CEO He Xiaopeng issued an internal letter to all employees titled "Steady Progress to Break Through: Embracing the New Decade of Physical AI Together in 2026."

In the letter, He Xiaopeng stated the company aims to "mass-produce dreams" by 2026. The new-generation IRON robot is scheduled to begin mass production by the end of this year, with the goal of becoming "the world's first mass-produced advanced humanoid robot." This year, the Iron robot will initially be deployed in scenarios such as guided tours and shopping assistance, and its Software Development Kit (SDK) will be opened to global developers.

In November of the previous year, XPeng's Iron robot sparked widespread discussion online after a video showing its remarkably human-like walking gait went viral, leading the company to perform a public "surgical" demonstration to verify its authenticity. The robot's performance contributed to a surge in XPeng's stock price, which at one point reached a market capitalization of HKD 212 billion, marking its highest closing valuation since July 2022. On that day, XPeng surpassed Geely Automobile to become the second most valuable Chinese automaker by market capitalization on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, trailing only BYD.

In 2025, XPeng achieved record-breaking sales, delivering 429,400 vehicles for the year and exceeding its annual sales target by 113%. In his letter, He Xiaopeng also highlighted three other milestones for XPeng in 2025: a further deepening of the strategic partnership with Volkswagen; the integration of the Turing AI chip into its vehicles; and the successful launch of multiple new products, including models featuring the "Dual-Energy" technology.

He Xiaopeng expressed his hope that XPeng will be the first in China to capture the "DeepSeek moment" for autonomous driving. He believes the company is at a historic inflection point, asserting that 2026 is the year to thoroughly break through in both "Physical AI" and globalization.

The internal letter addressed four key industry topics: Physical AI, products, globalization, and talent strategy, providing a strategic "battle map" for how XPeng intends to win in 2026.

Regarding the VLA (Visual-LiDAR-Autonomy) system, He Xiaopeng defined 2026 as the "inflection point for full autonomous driving," stating directly that XPeng will be the first in China to seize its "DeepSeek moment." Over the past month, He Xiaopeng and his team have continued internal testing and optimization of XPeng's "second-generation VLA" model, which he regards as "the first version XPeng delivers for the L4 full autonomous driving era." He described its performance in the letter as "stunning" and "emergent," and announced that Volkswagen will be the launch customer for this second-generation VLA autonomous driving solution.

Under the AI wave, automakers' organizational structures are being redefined. In February, XPeng merged its Autonomous Driving Center and Intelligent Cockpit Center into a "General Intelligence Center." He Xiaopeng stated that the primary benefit of this integrated cockpit and driving system is that "driving decisions and human-machine interaction are no longer separate." He predicted that with a shared AI foundation model, future XPeng users will simply need to say, "Take the small road ahead and avoid the next few traffic lights," and the vehicle will execute the command accordingly.

Coincidentally, after merging FSD with Grok, Elon Musk also stated on X (formerly Twitter) on February 21 that future FSD versions would allow users to control the vehicle via voice commands.

On the topic of Physical AI, He Xiaopeng stated that over the past decade, XPeng has focused on being the "first" – the first to mass-produce City NGP, the first to launch full-stack in-house R&D, and the first to get a flying car airborne. However, he declared that this year marks a watershed moment for XPeng's embodied intelligence, transitioning from "capable of being made" to "capable of mass production." XPeng aims to be the world's first technology company to achieve full mass production of three cutting-edge AI businesses – humanoid robots, flying cars, and Robotaxis – within the same year.

Robotaxi pilot operations for ride-hailing services are set to begin this year, with He Xiaopeng predicting they will "enter an initial rapid growth phase in 2027-2028, leading to a huge leap in revenue, market capitalization, and momentum."

The new-generation IRON robot, described as an "AI agent meeting automotive-grade standards," is scheduled to start mass production at year-end, targeting the goal of becoming "the world's first mass-produced advanced humanoid robot." He Xiaopeng detailed that XPeng's robots will first be deployed in scenarios like guided tours and shopping assistance, and the SDK will be opened to global developers.

The modular flying car, "Land Aircraft Carrier," has already rolled off the pilot production line and is also slated for scaled mass production and delivery within the year.

For 2026, He Xiaopeng's expectation for the company is to become "the first embodied intelligence company to fully convert the potential energy of technological exploration into the kinetic energy of mass production."

On products, He Xiaopeng declared that 2026 will be an "unprecedented big year for products" for XPeng. The company will no longer compete in every core market segment with just a single excellent vehicle, but rather with a comprehensive "product matrix." In the first quarter, XPeng will launch three new super extended-range electric vehicles, fully deploying its "Dual-Energy strategy."

The XPeng X9, the first model equipped with the super extended-range technology launched on November 20, 2025, achieved sales of 5,424 units in December 2025 and 4,219 units in January 2026. On January 8, 2026, XPeng officially released the 2026 XPeng P7+, the XPeng G7 super extended-range model, the 2026 XPeng G6, and the 2026 XPeng G9.

He Xiaopeng noted in the letter that while XPeng has created several popular models in the past, "this is not enough." The company will strive to "embed high quality into its system – covering styling, craftsmanship, technology, and even user service," aiming for a "dual leap in both the baseline and the ceiling of quality."

Regarding globalization, XPeng's overseas strategy is being elevated comprehensively this year. In 2025, XPeng's overseas deliveries exceeded 45,000 vehicles, a 96% year-on-year increase, ranking first among Chinese EV startups in pure-electric vehicle exports and second among all Chinese independent brands. In 2026, at least four new XPeng models will enter overseas markets. He Xiaopeng expects overseas sales to "double" and aims for "overseas sales of 1 million vehicles by 2030, contributing over 70% of profits."

He Xiaopeng summarized the overseas strategy in eight characters: "Spearhead" breakthrough, "Red Carpet" retention. "Spearhead" refers to products and markets: six models covering price bands from approx. RMB 100,000 to 200,000-level, focusing on five benchmark markets including Israel, Germany, Norway, Thailand, and France; the number of sales channels and service points is planned to double to 680 this year, with lead generation also targeted to double. "Red Carpet" refers to delivery and service: XPeng will enhance certainty at every stage, including delivery timelines, service responsiveness, and energy replenishment.

He Xiaopeng specifically emphasized the need to "build a solid foundation for large-scale global production capability," noting that many automakers have stumbled on this point in the past.

On talent, XPeng's strategy for 2026 has two pillars: train more people globally who are willing to take on challenges and capable of delivering results; enable AI Agents to become a capability extension for every employee. He Xiaopeng stated that in 2026, "XPeng's global headcount will increase by 8,000, of which 5,000 are planned to be new graduates recruited from campuses." He previously mentioned at the company annual meeting that the number of PhD graduates he has personally approved for hiring has exceeded one hundred, with some AI-related positions offering annual salaries reaching the million-yuan level.

In He Xiaopeng's view, as the company scales, internal training mechanisms will become key to organizational stability. Therefore, XPeng "will more firmly focus on cultivating and selecting talent from within – future XPeng managers will increasingly come from internal growth and promotion." He also expressed hope that "more colleagues will dare to go to the front lines overseas to compete."

XPeng is accelerating its transformation into a global Physical AI company. He Xiaopeng noted that AI is not just the product XPeng is building, nor should it be the "exclusive domain of the technology department," but should become a "capability extension" for every employee. From digitizing seven major operational processes to tool automation, the comprehensive penetration of AI can "free up manpower." From code writing to training material generation, the full utilization of AI allows the company to "derive benefits from efficiency."

From 2023 to 2025, XPeng's keyword was "Progress Steadily and Go Far." For 2026, He Xiaopeng's new strategy is "Steady Progress to Break Through." The future represents the "new decade of Physical AI," and only by making "steady progress to break through" can XPeng turn its blueprint into reality.