On February 24, the first workday following the Lunar New Year holiday, XPeng Inc. CEO He Xiaopeng issued a company-wide letter outlining the strategic direction for 2026. The letter, titled "Steady Progress to Break Through: Embracing the New Decade of Physical AI Together in 2026," addressed four key industry topics: Physical AI, product development, global expansion, and talent strategy. It provided a strategic roadmap for how XPeng intends to succeed in 2026.
In the letter, He Xiaopeng defined 2026 as the "inflection point for fully autonomous driving," stating that XPeng will be the first to seize the "DeepSeek moment" for autonomous driving in China. Furthermore, He mentioned that XPeng's global workforce is planned to grow by an additional 8,000 employees in 2026. Of this expansion, 5,000 positions are intended for recent graduates. The company also emphasized that future management roles will increasingly be filled through internal growth and promotion.