- Xpeng is working to integrate its Turing chip into some of Volkswagen's models planned for launch in China next year, according to the Financial Times.
- The company is also in discussions to supply chips to other automakers.
Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) said that its in-house developed Turing AI (artificial intelligence) smart driving chip will be open to partners, and it now appears that Volkswagen may be one of the first to adopt it.
The company is working to integrate its Turing chip into some of the models Volkswagen plans to launch in China next year, according to a report by the Financial Times today, citing Xpeng chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng.
"Developing chips is fundamentally a long-term commitment, as Xpeng envisions doing a lot of things across cars, aircraft and robotics," Mr. He said in an interview with the Financial Times.
"We need a type of chip that can support these platforms and also power our [AI] large language model," he said.
The company is also in talks to supply chips to other automakers. "We are looking for long-term partners," He said.
Following the interview, Xpeng clarified that talks with Volkswagen and other companies about using the chips were ongoing, the Financial Times noted.
"As announced, Volkswagen and Xpeng are jointly developing two Volkswagen brand cars for the mid-class segment. Both parties contribute their respective strength. These cars will be launched next year," the Financial Times quoted a Volkswagen spokesperson in China as saying.
Xpeng debuted the G7 yesterday and began pre-sales of the SUV (sport utility vehicle) in China.
One of the G7's key selling points is that it is the first model to feature Xpeng's in-house developed Turing AI chip, with a single chip delivering computing power equivalent to three mainstream autonomous driving chips.
Its Ultra variant is equipped with three Turing AI chips, delivering over 2,200 TOPS of effective computing power, making the G7 the world's first AI car to achieve L3 computational power, Xpeng said.
The three Turing AI chips can power both the autonomous driving models and the cockpit models, with AI computing power 26 times greater than that of other flagship models in the industry, meaning users will experience unprecedentedly smooth autonomous driving and instant cockpit responses, the company said.
Mr. He said at yesterday's event that Xpeng was open to providing its Turing AI chips to partners for use.
Volkswagen is one of Xpeng's key partners, announcing in July 2023 that it would invest $700 million in the Chinese EV maker and jointly develop EVs.
Xpeng's domestic peer Nio (NYSE: NIO) has already incorporated its in-house developed Shenji NX9031 smart driving chip into five of its models.
A single Shenji NX9031 chip has the same computing power as four Nvidia Orin X chips, Nio previously said.
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