Aug 24, 2026 earnings call — Robotics financing and IRON mass production
XPeng raised over USD 900 million at over USD 6.2 billion post-money valuation for its Robotics business.
Revenue $2.9B (est $3.0B) · EPS $-0.21 (est $-0.06)
Key quotes
"The business raised over USD 900 million at over USD 6.2 billion post-money valuation."
"With the new 6.3.0 major version, the number of parameters in the VLA 2.0 on-device model will increase by 3.5x, putting its parameter count in order of magnitude above that of small models commonly used in the industry."
"In the second quarter, our vehicle deliveries reached 103,295 units, up 65% quarter-over-quarter, and we achieved year-over-year growth ahead of the broader industry despite industry-wide cost pressures."
Analyst Q&A 5
robot mass production and margins
Q (Tim Hsiao · Morgan Stanley): He asked the projected production capacity when IRON enters commercial mass production by late 2026 and the target delivery volume for fiscal 2027. He also asked the estimated unit cost, pricing approach and expected gross margin path after full ramp.
A: They expect mass production at scale by year-end 2026 and initial commercialization to start in their stores, expanding in 2027 into self-operated scenarios and external customers. They said mass production units in 2027 will be at multiple of several thousand units per month and then pick up further. They said IRON hardware gross margins should be better than the automotive business and software, subscriptions and service sales will add profits.
"In terms of mass production for 2026, and we expect that by year-end of 2026, we will see mass production at scale kicking in." — He Xiaopeng (CEO·CHAIR)
what tech and data robots share with cars
Q (Ming-Hsun Lee · BofA): Which parts of the robot foundation models and modules are shared with XPeng's autonomous driving systems and which are developed separately? He also asked what XPeng's advantages are in robot data collection, training and closed-loop iteration.
A: They said some models and capabilities are shared with the automotive business, for example VLA/VLM similarities and roaming/motion functions, and some 'thinking' capabilities from the robot open platform could be used in XPeng’s cars. They said robots also have unique safety and power concerns to develop independently. They said XPeng has higher-quality data from over a decade in autonomous driving and will collect real-world and human-demonstrated robot data to build a high-quality data flywheel for R&D.
"For robots, on the other hand, I also believe that some of the thinking capabilities of robots such as on the open platform next year can also be put into use for our XPeng’s automotive business." — He Xiaopeng (CEO·CHAIR)
initial commercial use and robot hand progress
Q (Ming Chung · Citi): Why XPeng chose salesperson/tour guide use cases first, who the target customers are, and whether they will expand into industrial and home use. Also asked for the design, performance and cost status of their dexterous hand.
A: They said they chose commercial salesperson and tour-guide scenarios to showcase four robot strengths—main hardware, environment, business function and emotional value—starting with consumer retail and small/medium business customers, then expanding with SDKs and more channels. On the dexterous hand, they said they have invested in R&D and manufacturing, the hand has 21 degrees of freedom and is the same size as an adult hand, with leading load-bearing and grasping; they focus on balancing safety, reliability, maintainability and cost and will share mass production plans by year-end.
"The dexterous hand for our robots, and we have 21 degrees of freedom, as mentioned earlier, in terms of the size of the product of the dexterous hand, it is the exact same size as the hand of an adult." — He Xiaopeng (CEO·CHAIR)
overseas ADAS rollout and subscription model
Q (Y.C. Lai · JPMorgan): How many overseas models will get the VLA 2.0 technology starting in Germany and what will the long-term overseas business model be for subscriptions versus one-time payments?
A: They said Turing AI chips have been deployed to overseas L03 vehicles and those will have the Ultra version. They said VLA will be deployed in L03 models across all markets while they work on local compliance, testing and localization. They said subscription service details will be announced in due course and a BD team is discussing VLA usage and expansion with partners.
"For VLA, and this will be deployed in L03 models across all different markets." — He Xiaopeng (CEO·CHAIR)
robot profitability and financial reporting
Q (Tina Hou · Goldman Sachs): When might the humanoid robot business become profitable and what sales level is needed for profitability? She also asked if XPeng will report robot profits separately from the auto business.
A: They said it is too early to comment on the robotic business financial outlook and they are focused on SOP for volume production by the end of this year and starting internal deployment then external offers in the first half of next year, with gradual ramp. They said robots are expected to have much higher gross profit potential than automotive—hardware already higher and future AI/model/software revenues add higher-margin opportunities—and once volumes ramp profitability can come faster; today the businesses operate together, are 100% consolidated, and any separation would be gradual over the announced 18-month period.
"With regard to the financial outlook of the robotic business, I think it's bit too early for us to comment." — Gui Hongdi (PRESIDENT)