Xpeng's head of autonomous driving resigns - PingWest

Xpeng's head of autonomous driving resigns

Xpeng's head of autonomous driving resigns

August 2, 2023 10:50 pm

On Wednesday, Xpeng, a Chinese electric vehicle startup, announced that its Vice President of Autonomous Driving, Xinzhou Wu, will be leaving the company.

According to the company's statement, Wu tendered his resignation citing "personal and family reasons."

Taking over Wu's crucial role will be Liyun Li, the Senior Director of Xpeng's autonomous driving team. Li has been leading the project team responsible for Xpeng's advanced driver-assistance system known as XNGP. 

Xpeng has been positioning itself as a frontrunner in autonomous driving and other advanced technologies compared to its competitors. One of its main products is the semi-autonomous driving system, XNGP, which is positioned as a competitor to Tesla's Autopilot.

The timing of Wu's departure is notable as Xpeng is playing catch-up in China's competitive electric vehicle market and recently formed an alliance with Volkswagen Group.

Last week, the renowned German automaker bought nearly 5% of Xpeng for $700 million and agreed on a strategic partnership to develop two new models.

Xpeng also reported yesterday that it delivered 11,008 vehicles in July, up 28% month-on-month. This figure is dwarfed by NIO's 20,462 and Li Auto's 34,13.

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