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Chinese electric carmaker XPeng is considering robotics and flying cars as part of its sustainability approach for the future. The Guanghzou-based company is also looking to boost its automobile sales by creating more car models.
Speaking in an interview with CNBC, founder and CEO of XPeng, He Xiaopeng discusses the effect of chip shortage on the auto industry, and why the company is investing in robotics and flying cars.
Flying Cars by XPeng
In July, XPeng performed an exhibition of their second flying passenger car. The car was developed over an eight year-period. On Tuesday, the company announced that it had finished the technology.
Speaking during his interview with CNBC, Xiaopeng said that “With the development of technology, the form of mobility will evolve from wheels to wings, propellers, 4 legs or 2 feet.” The CEO went on to state his belief in using technology to better people’s lives. This, he claimed was his lifelong pursuit.
Other auto companies like Hyundai and Geely are also developing aerial vehicles. Xiaopeng believes the company will host a press conference in the future to discuss the dimensions of the car Pricing and taking pre-orders will also follow.
Robotics
XPeng believes integrating Robotics into the auto industry will help the industry adjust to changing environments. He stated that he expects the process to take between 10 to 30 years.
“As it gets better and smarter in the long run, it could help us with some simple repetitive tasks. As the transportation tool becomes more and more intelligent, it could help us take on some tasks. This is how we envision it,” he said.
Other auto companies also seem to agree with his view. Just last month, CEO of Tesla Elon Musk announced the company would be building a humanoid robot. Other companies have also shown off their robots, including Boston Dynamics and Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi.
Chip Shortage, New Products
The entire auto industry has suffered a setback with the shortage of chips. This shortage resulted from the pandemic and is expected to take 18 months to completely sort. While XPeng agrees that the scarcity is a challenge, he noted that he expects it may worsen.
As a result, the company noted a drop in vehicle deliveries between August and July. Currently, the company has three cars on the market — the flagship P7 sedan, a cheaper sedan called the P5 and the G3 sports utility vehicle. It will also be launching the cheaper P5 sedan. In subsequent years, the company hopes to launch two or three new models annually.
In lieu of this, the Chinese carmaker is expanding its own manufacturing capacity. The CEO believes that with 300,000 to 500,000 in annual sales.
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