At Xpeng’s AI Day, CEO He Xiaopeng unveiled a plan allowing professional owners of older Xpeng models to upgrade their vehicles to feature the advanced capabilities offered by the AI-powered XNGP system.
The scheme relies heavily on crowdfunding, which requires a substantial number of individuals to sign up and contribute funds, allowing XPeng to move forward with the project. Two distinct schemes exist: one governs safe driving practices, while the other pertains to the cockpit management chip’s functioning.
The Sensible Driving Chip Improve Program is designed for professional variants of earlier models and involves upgrading a single Nvidia Orin X chip to dual chips. Professional variations currently enable high-speed NOA delivery, whereas city NOA, initially launched on Max variations, relies heavily on Lidar technology for its provision.
The lineup of fashion-forward models from Xpeng includes the P7i Professional, G9 Professional/Plus, G6 Professional/Plus, and X9 Professional. The enrollment fee for homeowners stands at a substantial 19,999 yuan (approximately 2,800 USD). The registration period spans from November 11th to December 12th. At least 1,000 people must participate in this system for it to move forward effectively.
The integration of the Orin X chip enables over-the-air (OTA) updates, unlocking the Hawk AI-powered system that facilitates City-NOA functionality via vision-based methods leveraging cameras, millimeter-wave radar, and ultrasonic sensors.
The Xpeng P7+ has introduced a novel autonomous driving technology, Hawk AI, which operates independently of lidar sensors to deliver urban self-driving capabilities.
The cockpit’s chip renewal programme replaces its existing Qualcomm 820A processor with a newer Snapdragon 8295 chip. This innovation allows for enhanced cockpit capabilities and provides a significantly smoother ride.
Automotive models supported by this improvement include the Xpeng G3, G3i, and P7. Consumers may be willing to pay a premium of $700 (approximately ¥4,999) to participate in this program, with an initial target enrollment of 4,000 users to drive its growth. The registration window will again take place from November 11 to December 12 in the year 2024.
Once the crowdfunding campaign yields a profit, we will promptly launch the event and testing of our improved plan, with production expected to commence in October 2025.
Editor’s word:
Zeekr faced significant backlash in early 2024 after rolling out two major updates to its 001 model within a short span of time. The replacement of the sole’s second component enabled the vehicle to perform sensible driving. While customers tend to unfavorably compare Zeekr with Tesla, the latter is reportedly poised to bring its latest autonomous driving technology to market – an innovation that could be explained to a five-year-old as a major step forward in car development.
