Xpeng Targets Monthly Production of 1,000 Iron Robots by Year-End
Xpeng plans to produce over 1,000 Iron humanoid robots per month by the end of 2026, with initial deployments as sales assistants in its Chinese stores starting in early 2027.
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Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng is accelerating production of its humanoid robot, the Iron, with a target of manufacturing more than 1,000 units per month by the end of 2026, according to the company.
The robot, first shown at Xpeng's AI Day in November 2025, stands 178 cm tall and weighs 70 kg. It uses all-solid-state batteries and is powered by three Xpeng-developed Turing AI chips that provide a total computing power of 2,250 TOPS. The Iron runs on Xpeng's second-generation Vision-Language-Action (VLA) large model.
Xpeng began building a dedicated production base for humanoid robots in Guangzhou during the first quarter of 2026. The facility covers about 110,000 square meters. CEO He Xiaopeng said on a March 2026 earnings call that the Iron would enter mass production by the end of that year, with monthly capacity exceeding 1,000 units. In June 2026, He announced he would personally lead the robotics business as its "CEO," and the company reorganized its robotics center, creating nine new second-level departments.
The company's deployment plan calls for Iron robots to start working as sales assistants at Xpeng stores in China in the first quarter of 2027, with overseas stores following later in the year. According to Xpeng's roadmap, the robot will enter overseas markets in the second quarter of 2027, and household deployment is expected to begin in 2028.
Xpeng's research and development spending in physical AI-related areas is projected to increase to RMB 7 billion (about $1.03 billion) in 2026.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley predict that humanoid robot shipments in China will reach 50,000 units in 2026 and 100,000 units in 2027.