Chinese EV maker XPeng has a busy year ahead, as it is set to test its self-driving software on the streets of Hong Kong. In another major move abroad, XPeng will also begin vehicle production in Indonesia.
THE X NPG
Last week, XPeng founder He Xiaopeng told the Hong Kong Economic Journal that the company would be running the tests for its self-driving software on the streets of Hong Kong. However, neither XPeng nor He himself have disclosed when the testing will take place.
The company has named it autonomous driving software as the Xpeng Navigation Guided Pilot or X NPG. This software is set to rival Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, and BYD’s Deepseek-powered God’s Eye. The X PNG will include self-parking and self-navigation features that are set to debut overseas in 2026, beginning with Southeast Asia.
“We hope that with better development and testing in the future, we can bring Xpeng’s top smart driving capabilities to the world, including Thailand, other Southeast Asian markets and more countries in 2026,” XPeng said in a statement to the Hong Kong Economic Journal.
According to the CnEV Post, the X NPG will be the first autonomous vehicle software to achieve level 3 autonomy. In the 6 levels of vehicle autonomy, level 3 is also called Conditional Driving Automation. Like the name suggests, level 3 vehicles use environmental detection features to scan its surroundings. Based on the data it gathers, the vehicle makes the decision to speed up, slow down, or stop. At this level, the vehicle is considered “fully autonomous,” however, there will be instances where it will alert the driver to take control.
The CnEV Post obtained accessed an internal email from XPeng and its CEO. The publication revealed this quote written by He: “I believe that L3 autonomous driving will drive AI cars into the ‘iPhone 4 era.”
PRODUCTION IN INDONESIA
XPeng’s international activities don’t stop at Hong Kong. The company initially announced that it will begin distribution of its EVs in Indonesia. Distribution is carried by major Indonesian distributor Erajaya Active Lifestyle (ERAL).
In addition to sales and distribution, the company will also begin localised production in Indonesia later in the year. The models to be produced on the archipelago are the G6 SUV and X9 MPV with right-hand drive.
A rising player in the global EV market, Indonesia is creating great efforts to become a global EV hub. The archipelago aims for a production output of 400,000 EVs by the end of the year. Eventually, Indonesia hopes to reach 1,000,000 EV units produced by the year 2035.
Just this year, multiple companies have partnered with the Indonesian government to further efforts towards complete EV adaption. The country has partnered with BYD for EV charging ports and its own plant, set to start production next year. Toyota has also partnered with the Indonesian government to set up its own hydrogen fuelling station in the West Java province.
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