XPENG launches YOYO robotaxi trial registration in China

XPENG formally launched its autonomous ride-hailing business under the brand name XPENG YOYO on October 8, 2026, before opening trial registration to prospective users in China on October 10, 2026. The announcement marks the official commercial branding of the company's autonomous passenger vehicle operations. Prospective passengers in China can now sign up for early trial access through an invitation-based online registration system.

The public online registration phase follows a prior period of internal trial operations conducted within the company. During that earlier testing phase, XPENG permitted its own employees to reserve and ride in the autonomous test vehicles at a promotional price of RMB 1 per ride. That internal program allowed the firm to evaluate booking functionality and vehicle performance prior to inviting public users.

Vehicle hardware and software

The YOYO autonomous vehicle relies on proprietary processing hardware engineered directly by XPENG. The computing architecture inside each robotaxi contains four XPENG-developed Turing chips. Together, these four onboard processors deliver a total computing power of 3,000 TOPS to execute vehicle driving functions and real-time processing tasks.

On the software side, the vehicle operates using XPENG's VLA 2.0 autonomous driving software model. Unlike many traditional driverless vehicle systems, the VLA 2.0 software operates without utilizing lidar sensors. In addition, the system navigates without using pre-mapped high-definition maps, relying instead on its integrated software model to guide the vehicle along public roadways.

Road trials and business structure

Production of the dedicated robotaxi vehicle began earlier in the year when XPENG produced its first complete unit in May 2026. Following initial manufacturing, the company sought local government approvals to expand testing. In August 2026, XPENG obtained official permission to conduct driverless road tests in Guangzhou. The permission allowed the company to operate test vehicles on municipal roads without a human safety operator sitting in the driver's seat.

To monetize the new service, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer He Xiaopeng outlined three primary revenue streams for the XPENG YOYO business. XPENG intends to generate commercial income through direct vehicle sales, the provision of operating services for active fleets, and commission sharing agreements established with local partners.

For localized deployment and physical maintenance, XPENG will not manage all city operations independently. Instead, local fleet operations and vehicle deployment will be managed in close partnership with external fleet operators in each target market.