Xpeng is reportedly set to follow Tesla’s footsteps in terms of its strategy for self-driving, at least with one model that the Chinese company will release later this year.
It now seems that Xpeng is planning to launch the F57, a new all-electric vehicle that will completely ditch LiDAR and utilize only cameras, similar to Tesla’s Pure Vision approach that it adopted several years ago.
CEO Elon Musk has always called LiDAR a “fool’s errand,” and he eventually took it a step further by eliminating ultrasonic sensors from its vehicles two at a time starting in 2022.
Now, Xpeng is reportedly planning to dip its toe in the strategy, as CnEV Post reported.
Xpeng has long relied on LiDAR for its vehicles. First utilizing the technology on the P5 in 2021, it seems the company is starting to believe it can obtain more accurate self-driving programs with the use of other tech.
Additionally, CEO He Xiaopeng visited the United States last month and rode on public streets using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite, which uses only cameras for its operation. He noted he was extremely impressed by its performance, especially on highways:
“In the past couple of days, I had the chance to experience FSD version 12.3.6 in California, and I also took a ride in a Waymo vehicle. Overall, Waymo performed better in downtown San Francisco, while FSD excelled in Silicon Valley and on the highways, achieving very high scores and handling various road conditions smoothly…I’m truly impressed by the significant progress FSD has made in just a few months. We plan to learn from FSD’s excellent features and user experience. I believe 2025 will be the Chat GPT moment for fully autonomous driving!”
Xpeng CEO bullish on autonomy in Tesla FSD (Supervised) review
The decision to ditch LiDAR altogether could help bring an unlikely alliance to both Tesla and Xpeng.
Xpeng could consider adopting more Tesla tech for its vehicles and utilizing the company’s expertise for its development of self-driving technology.
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