The chief executive of Xpeng said on Wednesday he would personally lead the company’s robotics business, as the Chinese electric vehicle maker — emerging as a frontrunner in humanoid robotics among automakers — pushes toward mass production by year-end. "The (robot) industry is becoming increasingly hot and competitive, and we have clearly seen the direction and timing of victory, but it still requires more arduous implementation and extremely high decision-making ability," Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng said in an internal letter reviewed by Reuters. He said the decision to take on the role of "CEO" of the robotics unit, effective immediately, comes "on the eve of mass production and commercialisation" of Xpeng's humanlike IRON robots, which debuted last year.
