XPeng Inc. (“Xpeng” or the “Company,”), a leading Chinese smart electric vehicle (“Smart EV”) company, today launched the MONA M03, its intelligent, all-electric hatchback coupe, featuring three versions priced between RMB 119,800 and 155,800 with deliveries beginning in September.
MONA’s launch was officially announced at Xpeng’s 10th Anniversary Gala, where the Company also revealed its inaugural in-house developed chip, the Xpeng Turing. Named after computing pioneer Alan Mathison Turing, this cutting-edge innovation embodies Xpeng’s relentless commitment to intelligent technology R&D over the last decade. Following its successful tape-out on August 23, Xpeng Turing became the world’s first 40-core chip tailored for AI models and the first chip designed to empower AI-defined cars, AI robots and eVOTLs. Additionally, the Company introduced its Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor or LOFIC-based AI Hawkeye Visual Solution (“Hawkeye”), which will debut on the Xpeng P7+ in the fourth quarter of 2024.
“The last ten years encompass not only Xpeng’s first decade but also the first decade of China’s smart driving journey. As a company that develops its full-stack smart driving technology in-house, our goal has always been to build a user-friendly, easy-to-drive smart car for technology lovers in China,” said He Xiaopeng, CEO and Chairman of Xpeng. “Meanwhile, intelligence has become the biggest and most exciting trend for the future. For our next decade, XPENG is setting new goals: to become a global technology company centered on AI-powered vehicles.”
He also made three “predictions” for the Chinese automotive industry and Xpeng over the next decade, focusing on globalization and AI:
- Only seven mainstream Chinese automotive brands will remain
- Xpeng’s annual sales of AI-powered vehicles will reach 1 million units
- Half of Xpeng’s sales will come from overseas markets
Ushering in the era of AI-defined cars: Xpeng Turing’s successful tape-out and the debut of the AI Hawkeye Visual Solution on the Xpeng P7+
Serving as the “brain” of Xpeng’s AI car family and developed for L4 autonomous driving, the Xpeng Turing chip utilizes a DSA (Domain Specific Architecture) for neural networks, delivering performance three times greater than that of existing chips and providing powerful computing support for autonomous driving.
Xpeng Turing will significantly propel the development of Xpeng’s AI models. Additionally, end-to-end AI models will accelerate the arrival of L4 autonomous driving and enable Xpeng to achieve an L3+ user experience on L2 hardware at an L2 price within 18 months.
System-level improvements in smart driving capabilities rely on the evolution of perception systems. End-to-end large models can maximize the amount of data collected by cameras. To meet this demand, Xpeng has released its next-generation smart driving perception solution for end-to-end AI applications: the AI Hawkeye Visual Solution.
On the hardware side, the “AI Hawkeye Vision Solution” integrates two front and rear 8M cameras, which significantly enhance their precision, range, and color resolution capabilities. The world’s first LOFIC architecture effectively improves backlight perception, allowing the “AI Hawkeye Vision Solution” to see more clearly in low-light, backlight, and high-contrast lighting conditions.
On the software side, empowered by end-to-end large models, the “AI Hawkeye Vision Solution” can process visual information without conversion, directly inputting it into the neural network, which enhances the sensitivity and responsiveness of perception regulation.
Xpeng has developed compatibility for its smart driving software to ensure consistency in advanced smart driving experiences, whether utilizing the AI Hawkeye Vision Solution or the LiDAR-equipped Max versions. In the fourth quarter of this year, the Xpeng P7+ will be the first model to feature the “AI Hawkeye Vision Solution,” with other models, including the MONA series, to follow.
The design language of the Xpeng MONA M03, informed by AI-quantified aesthetics, seamlessly blends beauty and functionality. Its ultra-attractive, sporty exterior design is comparable to that of coupes in the RMB 200,000 range, featuring a length of 4,780mm, a wheelbase of 2,815mm, and the largest trunk space in its class at 621L. With the only standard electric hatchback tailgate in its class, M03’s sleek profile improves upon the golden ratio of sports coupes to deliver world-leading wind resistance among mass-produced pure electric hatchbacks, achieving a drag coefficient of Cd0.194.
To affordably bring the joy of smart driving to younger audiences, the MONA M03 boasts the most advanced smart driving features in its class, offering two ADAS solutions, M03 and M03 Max, to meet various smart driving needs. Full-scenario smart parking and over 20 smart hardware components come standard across the entire M03 product lineup. Meanwhile, the M03 Max is equipped with full-scenario XNGP ADAS that covers all public roads in China, making it the industry’s only urban smart driving solution priced under RMB 200,000. This version is scheduled to begin delivery after the Chinese New Year in 2025.
Additionally, the “Land Carrier” flying car from Xpeng will officially begin pre-sales in the fourth quarter of this year, and Xpeng’s second-generation humanoid robot will be unveiled at the “1024 XPENG Tech Day.”
SOURCE: Xpeng
