Xpeng CEO Hy Xiaopeng is standing next to the company’s P7 electric sedan while addressing media during the 2020 Beijing Motor Show.
Evelyn Cheng | CNBC
GUANGZHOU, China – Chinese electric car maker Xpeng Motors announces new autonomous driving function designed to work on highways as it increases its challenge for local competitors as well as Tesla.
The feature – called Navigation Guided Pilot or NGP – will enable the company’s flagship P7 sedan to automatically change lanes, drive faster or slower, or overtake cars and enter and exit highways.
It is part of the next generation of Xpeng’s XPILOT 3.0 so-called advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) which the company is expected to launch in the first quarter of this year. ADAS refers to a system with some autonomous functions, but where a driver is still required.
Xpeng is one of China’s electric vehicle companies looking to accelerate its growth in the country’s growing market, while fighting other pushes such as Nio and Li Auto, as well as US electric car giant Tesla.
Mass deliveries of Xpeng’s P7 sedan, a direct competitor to Tesla’s Model 3, began last June. Xpeng delivered 27,041 vehicles in 2020 – more than twice as many as a year ago.
The NGP is a challenge for Tesla’s autonomous ADAS called Autopilot. One of the features of Autopilot is called Navigate on Autopilot, which has similar features to Xpeng’s NGP.
China’s electric vehicle companies want to add more autonomous features to their cars. Nio has its own system called NIO Pilot.
How Xpeng’s system works
A driver will need to watch a safety video before enabling Xpeng’s highway management feature. Drivers should keep their hands on the wheel while using the autonomous driving functions of the vehicle.
Users then enter their destination on the map. The car then starts from the functions like lane departure starts by itself.
Drivers will receive a warning if they have to control the car manually, for example during adverse weather conditions or a road accident.
Xpeng says its cars are equipped with 14 cameras and other critical sensors. Nvidia’s Xavier computer system drives XPILOT 3.0.
The highway management feature is available in the premium version of the P7 and only available to customers in China.