The third in the country! XPeng has obtained the L3 autonomous driving road test license, upgrading the competition with Tesla's FSD

XPeng has made another achievement in the autonomous driving competition, becoming the third domestic car company to obtain an L3-level autonomous driving road test license.

On December 16, XPeng announced that it has obtained an L3-level autonomous driving road test license in Guangzhou and has initiated regular L3 road testing. This license is primarily used for conditional autonomous driving testing on high-speed roads for intelligent connected vehicles in Guangzhou.

This breakthrough coincides with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's announcement of the first batch of L3-level conditional autonomous driving vehicle access permits, marking a key milestone in the transition of China's L3-level autonomous driving from the testing phase to commercial application.

Founder He Xiaopeng previously stated that XPeng's technological reserves and evolution goals are already aimed at L4-level autonomous driving, with plans to launch mass-produced vehicles that meet L4-level autonomous driving standards in both software and hardware by 2026. As the commercialization of intelligent driving accelerates, the direct competition between XPeng and Tesla in the field of autonomous driving will become even more intense.

L3 License Implementation Boosts Commercialization Process

The L3-level autonomous driving road test license obtained by XPeng allows it to conduct conditional autonomous driving testing on high-speed roads for intelligent connected vehicles in Guangzhou. Unlike L2 level, which requires the driver to constantly monitor, L3 level allows the vehicle to operate independently in specific environments, with the driver not needing to be on standby but still required to intervene manually when the system cannot make accurate judgments.

According to the "Automotive Driving Automation Classification" released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, L3 level represents a key transition point from assisted driving to autonomous driving, with more logical driving computer control of the vehicle. Previously, Changan and BYD had obtained similar testing qualifications, making XPeng the third car company to receive this license.

XPeng has established a clear timeline for the evolution of its autonomous driving technology.

As early as February this year, He Xiaopeng revealed that a new version of V6 with advanced L3 capabilities will be launched in mid-2025, marking the beginning of a version that will fully surpass Tesla's FSD V13 capabilities. By the end of 2025, true L3-level software will be launched, requiring a significant increase in chip computing power, storage, and hardware redundancy capabilities.

Technical Route Aiming for L4

Despite just obtaining the L3 test license, XPeng's technological evolution goal has already locked onto L4 level. At the 2025 Technology Day, XPeng officially released the second-generation VLA with L4 capabilities, which is expected to be mass-produced in vehicles in the first quarter of 2026.

The second-generation VLA differs from the traditional "vision-language-action" architecture by innovatively removing the "language translation" step, achieving direct end-to-end generation from visual signals to action commands for the first time. With this technological support, XPeng's autonomous assisted driving can handle various complex small roads and park scenarios, while also launching the "navigation-free autonomous assisted driving" function, which can be activated globally without relying on navigation.

In terms of hardware, starting from the third quarter of 2025, the Ultra versions of all models under XPeng will be equipped with three self-developed Turing AI chips, with effective computing power reaching 2250 TOPS. He Xiaopeng expects that future automotive companies will invest 50 billion yuan annually in research and development, with 30 billion yuan allocated to the AI field, and XPeng's annual investment of several billion yuan in building computing power centers has become the norm XPeng will also launch three Robotaxi models in 2026 and start trial operations. Unlike Tesla, XPeng will focus on product research and development without involving operational aspects. Currently, Gaode has become its first global ecological partner.

The Competition Between XPeng and Tesla Intensifies

The competition between XPeng and Tesla has entered a full showdown phase.

On December 11, He Xiaopeng made a "bet" on social media: If by August 30 next year, XPeng's VLA technology reaches the overall level of Tesla's FSD V14.2 in Silicon Valley, he will set up a Chinese-style cafeteria in Silicon Valley; if he fails, the head of autonomous driving, Liu Xianming, will "run naked" on the Golden Gate Bridge.

He Xiaopeng previously test drove the latest FSD V14.2 version and Robotaxi in Silicon Valley and stated, FSD has progressed from a "smooth experience" of L2 advanced driver assistance a year ago to the current "reassuring stage of quasi-L4." During the approximately 5-hour test drive, he found that standard vehicles and Robotaxis performed consistently using the same model, and although there are still flaws, it has "significantly exceeded last year's level."

He Xiaopeng admitted that the first version of XPeng's VLA cannot fully realize all the capabilities of FSD V14.2, but XPeng VLA 2.0 will be released in the next quarter. He predicts that by 2026, when XPeng Robotaxi begins trial operations, the model equipped in the XPeng Ultra will "significantly surpass the capabilities of other intelligent driving assistance products on the market by dozens of times or more."

In addition to intelligent driving, the humanoid robot IRON is another important layout for He Xiaopeng. The company's goal is to achieve mass production by the end of 2026, with a long-term target of exceeding 1 million units sold by 2030.

JP Morgan believes that XPeng is emulating Tesla's technological route, extending its self-developed chip and algorithm capabilities into the two major AI fields of robotaxi and humanoid robots, and has nearly doubled its target price to $50/195 HKD. However, the road to AI is not smooth; high R&D costs, whether L4-level vehicles can be delivered on time by the end of 2026, and how to reduce the manufacturing costs of the humanoid robot "IRON" are all challenges ahead.

Intelligent Driving Welcomes a Commercialization Turning Point

He Xiaopeng believes that the next decade will definitely be the iPhone 4 era of L3 smart cars, leading to a decade of fully autonomous L4 driving. He previously stated that in the next ten years, we will see larger-scale applications of L4-level autonomous driving, and cars will become "embodied intelligent vehicles."

Institutions are optimistic about the valuation repair potential of the autonomous driving sector, with the logic being: (1) The penetration rate of advanced driver assistance continues to rise, possibly exceeding 40% by 2026; (2) Domestic chips are fully penetrating the high-end market, expected to achieve simultaneous growth in both volume and price; (3) ADAS solution providers are steadily advancing domestic substitution.

In terms of penetration rate, according to data from NE Times New Energy, the penetration rate of L2++ and above advanced driving assistance systems reached 25.01% from January to September 2025. Institutions expect that the penetration rate of high-level intelligent driving will exceed 40% in 2026. On December 15, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially announced the first batch of L3 conditional autonomous driving vehicle access permits, with seven companies including Changan and BYD on the list