Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng said the robotics industry will become larger than the automotive sector in the next few years, though it added that it might take a half-decade before humanoid robots are available in households.

"Regarding robotics, I think it is probably going to be the biggest future industry, bigger than automotive in some ways because of the vast numbers and also the utility scenarios that can be deployed," said Brian Gu Hongdi, Xpeng's vice-chairman and co-president, during a video briefing on Wednesday.

Gu said Xpeng would first focus on deploying its robots in commercial settings like factories and retail outlets.

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On Tuesday during an earnings call, the Guangzhou-based carmaker identified three growth areas: equipping its cars with artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, growing outside China and developing humanoid robots.

In November, Xpeng unveiled Iron, an AI-powered humanoid robot, just a month after Tesla showed off a similar product called Optimus.

Xpeng said it has been using robots in its factories to help assemble its cars, adding that it plans to mass produce humanoid robots and flying cars for the consumer market by the end of next year.

"When I think about the future of an AI-driven mobility ecosystem, I envision driverless vehicles cruising through cities, flying cars for inner-city travel and humanoid robots integrated into our factories and communities," said He Xiaopeng, Xpeng's chairman and CEO, on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the founder said Xpeng would invest 50 billion yuan (US$6.9 billion) to 100 billion yuan in the research and development of humanoid robots over the next 20 years.

In recent years, the company has positioned itself as an "AI-empowered global automotive company" with a growing focus on autonomous driving and other AI-related technologies, as consumers in mainland China have grown louder in their demands for smarter driving technologies.

In August, Xpeng unveiled a self-developed Turing AI chip to provide computing support for its next generation of products, including EVs with Level 4 autonomous driving capability, robots and flying cars.

CEO He on Tuesday said Xpeng would seek to achieve L3-level autonomous driving capabilities in China in the second half of the year, adding that the company planned to start mass producing its Turing chips and EV models with L4-ready technology in 2026.

Out of the six levels of vehicle automation from Level 0 to Level 5 as designated by the Society of Automotive Engineers, Level 3 allows a vehicle to handle all driving tasks with human intervention when needed, while Level 4 enables full automation in specific environments without human input.

DeepSeek's recent release of two powerful but cost-effective large language models seems to have accelerated competition in China's autonomous driving sector.

BYD, the world's largest manufacturer of hybrid and pure EVs, unveiled its God's Eye driving assistance system in February, which will be added to its vehicles at no additional cost.

And on Monday, Tesla launched a free trial of its Full Self-Driving service in China, as the US carmaker awaits Chinese regulatory approval for a full roll-out this year.

Other Chinese carmakers, including Zeekr and Guangzhou Automobile Group, also said this week they would roll out EV models with Level 3 capabilities. On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that Xiaomi was planning to expand the size of its planned second EV factory in Beijing, after the company reported strong earnings for 2024 on Tuesday.

"We see more players now piling into this area and announcing and offering such [AI-empowered] technologies in their vehicles, whether it's high end or low end," Xpeng's Gu said. "But auto companies do not become AI companies overnight. It is a technology that requires deep understanding and accumulation over the last few years."

Beijing has encouraged technologies like AI, robots and flying cars to support the country's struggling economy. A reference to the "low-altitude economy" was included in a government work report last year and "AI Plus" was mentioned this year.

Chinese state television also featured humanoid robots from Unitree, a company backed by Alibaba Group Holding, dancing with humans at this year's Spring Festival Gala, which often hints at the government's future economic focus. Alibaba owns the Post.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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