Xpeng (XPEV) shares surged about 6.2% on Tuesday during pre-market hours of trading on growing optimism about the company’s progress in humanoid robot technology.
At its recent AI Day event themed “Emergence,” Xpeng (XPEV) unveiled its next-generation ‘Iron’ humanoid robot, which displayed a highly human-like appearance and gait, impressing many with its realistic movements.
The company highlighted that IRON is on track for mass production, expecting large-scale humanoid manufacturing by 2026.
The demonstration caught attention, while CEO He Xiaopeng mentioned that during rehearsal, some colleagues asked, “is there a real human inside the iron?”
The latest “most human-like” robot represents a significant strategic pivot for the company as it expands beyond electric vehicles to include robotics and AI-driven mobility.
CEO He Xiaopeng had earlier commented that a human-like form is crucial for collecting “valuable data from humans”. He argued that if a robot’s structure is “totally different from humans, then we cannot collect realistic data.”
The Hong Kong-listed stock jumped about 18%, hitting its highest level since mid-2022, and the stock is up more than 120% this year, on the same day to its highest level in a year, backed by broader market gains.
Wall Street analysts give the stock a Buy rating. A Seeking Alpha contributor wrote, “XPeng is positioned as a leading Chinese EV innovator, rivaling Tesla with advanced AI and semiconductor technology.“