Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) has started internal employee testing of its Robotaxi platform in Guangzhou, China, eight months after the company first unveiled the initiative at its AI Day 2025 event, according to a press release.

Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng completed the first internal Robotaxi journey, placing an order, being picked up, and reaching a destination through the platform. The test covered the full service chain, including ride-hailing, autonomous dispatch, and journey completion.

The announcement was made during Xpeng's first company-wide Robotaxi business meeting. "Robotaxi represents an important step in Xpeng's expansion from smart electric vehicles to robotic vehicles," He Xiaopeng said. "For Xpeng, Robotaxi is not simply a new business, but one of the most important milestones in unlocking the real potential of Physical AI."

The platform is powered by Xpeng's Turing AI chip, its VLA2.0 AI model, and proprietary infrastructure. The company said the system is designed for deployment without relying on LiDAR-heavy architectures or high-definition maps.

Rather than operating ride-hailing fleets directly, Xpeng said it plans to act as a technology provider, supplying software, hardware, and AI capabilities to local partners. Candice Yuan, Head of Xpeng Robotaxi, noted that the VLA2.0 model's ability to generalize across environments "significantly reduces the cost and complexity of deployment."

Xpeng said it plans to complete trial operations and establish demonstration services in Guangzhou during 2026, using the city as a model for potential global replication. The company confirmed it is exploring Robotaxi partnerships in Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.