XPeng Motors just announced that its EV customers in three major Chinese cities will receive a Phase One rollout of the automaker’s XNGP advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). With new software architecture, massive computing power, and dozens of sensors, XPeng continues to tout its ADAS platform as the “most advanced mass-market option in China.”

In September of 2022, Chinese EV automaker XPeng Motors announced it had launched a pilot program for its City Navigation Pilot (NGP) advanced driver assistance system. With its debut, XPeng claimed to be the first Chinese company to deliver such an “high-level” ADAS for complex urban driving, continuing to challenge Tesla’s Full-Self-Driving (FSD) technology overseas – although the latter’s tech is not currently available in the country, so its not exactly a fair fight.

The “Highway” version of XPeng’s NGP was launched in China in Q1 of 2021 on the premium trim of its P7 sedan, which is supported by XPILOT 3.0 software. This ADAS feature functions without LiDAR, but its potential is limited – it allows for assisted driving on highways and expressways, but not for city-level driving.

XPeng’s latest bespoke EV, the G9, arrived last fall equipped with the automaker’s ultra-advanced X-PILOT 4.0 ADAS, capable of full-scenario-assisted driving through its Navigation Guided Pilot (NGP) and the full embrace of LiDAR technology (unlike Tesla).

XPeng first teased its City NGP in a video last September, showing a beta version of the software navigating busy urban streets in China without human interference. By July 2022, XPeng had shared even more comprehensive footage of City NGP in action, and it was quite impressive.

City NGP has been enabling XPeng drivers to navigate congested areas in Guangzhou for months and was soon followed by enabled driver assistance in the city of Shenzen. XPeng’s new XNGP technology is an all-encompassing generation of ADAS that includes highway, city, and other autonomous features like parking assist and will now be rolled out to a third major Chinese city as XPeng looks to expand its market leading ADAS platform across the entire country someday.

According to XPeng Motors following a presentation from China today, Phase One of its XNGP rollout is now underway as an over-the-air update to customers driving the “Max” trims of its G9 and P7 EVs. In addition to the City NGP availability in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the first phase of the rollout now includes Shanghai – China’s largest city.

XPeng states the new ADAS rollout includes an expanded Lane Centering Control (LCC) function that can recognize traffic signals, safely navigate intersections, and bypass any nearby obstacles – all without the dependency of high precision maps most other automotive safety systems rely heavily on. XPeng Motors’ vice president and head of autonomous driving center Dr. Xinzhou Wu spoke:

Today marks another exciting milestone in the development of autonomous driving. We are truly proud to be trailblazing this leap forward that will significantly enrich our customers’ driving experience using the latest technology iterations.

XNGP has proven itself to be the most advanced and capable ADAS platform in the Chinese market. We are continuously pushing the envelope to further expand its capabilities to enhance driving safety and provide superior functionalities for our customers.

Developed upon XPeng’s proprietary in-house software architecture, the automaker continues to proclaim its ADAS as the most advanced all-scenario system available in any mass-produced vehicle in China. Here are some of the new features drivers will see in the OTA update:

• Enhanced Simulated Reality (SR) 2.0 instrument display empowered by XNet deep vision perception technology.
  • The upgraded visual display delivers a bird’s eye view and 360° panoramic environmental perception of surrounding road conditions across more than 8 lanes to identify both safe and no-go areas.
  • XPeng says its the first in China with the ability to truly recognize lane markings like dashed lines, arrows, stop lines, and zebra crossings.
• XPeng’s latest Xmart OS 4.2.0 operating system includes 27 new functions, 52 optimizations and over 40 other improvements, covering smart driving, smart voice, and the cockpit experience.

Looking ahead, XPeng motors says Phase Two of its XNGP ADAS rollout will include the addition of full lane changing capabilities and overtaking left/right turn functionality – again, without the need for high precision maps.

The “all-scenario” version of XNGP detailed above is expected to begin rolling out in china in 2024. When complete, XPeng expects its ADAS to inevitably enable autonomous driving assistance for every driving scenario, “from start to park.”