9 months ago
62 An XPeng Inc. G9 electrical conveyance astatine the Shanghai Auto Show successful Shanghai, China, connected Monday, April 24, 2023.
Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Xpeng shares fell astir 5% connected Wednesday aft the institution announced its caput of autonomous driving volition permission the institution astatine what is seen arsenic a captious juncture for the Chinese electrical conveyance start-up.
Xinzhou Wu, vice president of autonomous driving astatine Xpeng, tendered his resignation "for idiosyncratic and household reasons," Xpeng said successful a statement.
Liyun Li, elder manager of Xpeng's autonomous driving team, volition takeover Wu's role. Li has been starring the task squad down Xpeng's precocious driver-assistance system known a XNGP. Xpeng said Li has been "prepared for the modulation for a agelong period."
He Xiaopeng, CEO of Xpeng, praised Wu's publication to getting Xpeng into a "leading presumption successful autonomous driving technology."
Wu's departure comes astatine a clip erstwhile Xpeng is looking to retrieve mislaid crushed to upstart rivals Nio and Li Auto arsenic good arsenic trying to instrumentality connected giants BYD and Tesla successful China arsenic the marketplace gets progressively cut-throat.
Xpeng continues to get hit by losses but delivered 11,008 vehicles successful July, up by 28% connected the month. It was the sixth consecutive period of transportation growth, highlighting signs of betterment to Xpeng's business.
The Guangzhou-headquartered steadfast has tried to presumption itself arsenic more precocious connected autonomous driving and different technologies than its competitors. It's main semi-autonomous driving merchandise is XNGP which it has positioned arsenic a rival to Tesla's Autopilot.
Xpeng's Xiaopeng sought to reassure investors that the company's exertion improvement volition continue.
"Looking forward, we volition stay afloat committed to our wide roadmap for the full-stack in-house developed autonomous driving exertion and our strategic concern with the Volkswagen Group," Xiaopeng said.
"I volition proceed to personally pb our autonomous driving squad and fortify our enactment successful Smart EV technologies," the CEO added.
