Chinese EV makers accelerate robotics drive for ‘game-changing’ edge over US

Xpeng, Cherry and others expand beyond cars, with humanoid robot Iron winning praise from Tesla CEO Elon Musk

Reading Time:3 minutes

Xpeng’s humanoid robot Iron relies primarily on visual data for training and decision-making. Photo: Shutterstock

Daniel Renin ShanghaiandJulie Zhangin Hong Kong

Published: 8:30am, 19 Nov 2025

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers from Xpeng to Chery Automobile, leveraging their technological and manufacturing strength, are intensifying efforts to build humanoid robots as they position themselves as potential game-changers amid Beijing’s ambitions to gain an upper hand over the US in the hi-tech sector.

Guangzhou-based Xpeng said it envisioned sales of 1 million units by 2030 after its next-generation humanoid robot Iron won praise from Tesla CEO Elon Musk early this month.

He Xiaopeng, co-founder and CEO of Xpeng, told an earnings results briefing on Monday that the cost of producing humanoid robots would eventually come down to the level of building cars, paving the way for their use by households in the near future.

“I hope Iron [robots] will become a new member in Xpeng’s stores, office parks and factories by the end of next year,” He said. “I believe the market potential for robots is greater than that for cars.”

He Xiaopeng says the cost of producing humanoid robots will eventually come down to the level of building cars. Photo: AFP

His upbeat forecast came just 10 days after Musk endorsed Iron on social media, while predicting Chinese companies would dominate the global robotics market alongside Tesla.

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