During the Xpeng AI Day, company CEO He Xiaopeng announced a scheme to allow drivers of Pro versions of older Xpeng models to upgrade to the capabilities now offered by the AI Hawk-based XNGP system.
The scheme is based on crowdfunding, meaning that it is dependent on a certain number of people signing up and paying an amount for Xpeng to roll it out. There are actually two separate schemes: one for smart driving and the other for the cockpit control chip.
The smart driving chip upgrade program is for Pro versions of previous models and involves upgrading the single Nvidia Orin X chip to dual chips. Pro versions currently support high-speed NOA but not urban NOA, which was introduced on Max versions, which were reliant on Lidar to provide the service.
The models covered are the Xpeng P7i Pro, G9 Pro/Plus, G6 Pro/Plus, and X9 Pro. Owners must pay 19,999 yuan (2800 USD)to sign up. The signup period is between November 11 and December 12. At least 1,000 must sign up for the program to go ahead.
Along with the additional Orin X chip, there will be an OTA, which will open the Hawk AI-based system, which brings urban NOA via vision-based systems, using cameras, millimeter-wave radars, and ultrasonic sensors.
Hawk AI is the new system introduced with the Xpeng P7+, which no longer relies on Lidar to provide an urban self-driving ability.
The cockpit chip renewal scheme swaps the original Qualcomm 820A chip for the Snapdragon 8295 chip. This will allow more cockpit functions and provide twice the smoothness.
Cars covered by this upgrade are the Xpeng G3, G3i, P7. Buyers will need to pay 4999 yuan (700 USD) and this time 4,000 are needed to sign up for the program to go ahead. The sign-up period is again between November 11 and December 12 of 2024.
Once the crowdfunding has been successful, the development and testing of the upgrade plan will be launched immediately, with delivery expected to start in October 2025.
Editor’s note:
Zeekr received considerable criticism earlier this year for launching two new updates to the 001 within 2024. Only the second update made the car capable of smart driving. Users compared Zeekr unfavorably with Tesla, which can bring the latest self-driving functionality to a five-year-old car.
