March 2 News – XPeng (小鹏汽车) announced that its next-generation Robotaxi model has passed third-party site testing and obtained the Guangzhou intelligent connected vehicle road test license, with open road testing currently underway. He Xiaopeng, Chairman of XPeng (小鹏汽车), further proposed that "fully autonomous driving" is expected to be achieved within the next one to three years.
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International classifies autonomous driving technology into six levels, from L0 to L5, with L3 and above defined as autonomous driving. China's national standard, Taxonomy of Driving Automation for Vehicles, also divides autonomous driving into six levels, basically corresponding to international standards. Robotaxi is a typical application of L4 autonomous driving.
XPeng (小鹏汽车) previously obtained an autonomous driving road test license in Guangzhou in October 2022 using the mass-produced G9 model, followed by a passenger testing license in April 2023. However, in recent years, XPeng's (小鹏汽车) autonomous driving technology roadmap has undergone a drastic shift, requiring the next-generation Robotaxi to start road testing from scratch.
According to He Xiaopeng, the Robotaxi test vehicle has successfully completed the entire operational process—including starting, driving, pulling over, picking up passengers, and billing—without a driver in the main seat and without relying on high-precision maps. The service is expected to be further opened for trial rides within the year.