* Xpeng’s CEO said the company plans to hire 4,000 new employees and invest 3.5 billion yuan ($486.2 million) in artificial intelligence technology.

* The Chinese electric car maker also plans to launch about 30 new or upgraded models over the next three years.

* CEO He Xiaopeng also warned that fierce competition in China’s electric vehicle market could end in a “bloody battle.”

New recruitment plan

The company plans to hire 4,000 new employees and invest in artificial intelligence technology, according to its chief executive, who warned that the fierce competition in electric vehicles could end in a “bloodbath.”
He Xiaopeng, CEO of electric car maker Xpeng, said in a letter to employees on Sunday that the company will invest a total of 3.5 billion yuan ($486.2 million) in research and development of artificial intelligence technology focused on “intelligent driving”.

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Current technology

Xpeng has a driver assistance system called Xpilot, which allows its cars to perform certain functions semi-automatically. The CEO also said Xpeng plans to launch about 30 new or upgraded cars in the next three years. This year, the company will launch its first models priced above 300,000 yuan and 150,000 yuan.

After a difficult start last year, Xiaopeng’s express delivery volume began to pick up.

For automakers, deliveries are closest to sales. Xiaopeng, like other electric car makers, has been fighting a price war in China that was sparked by Tesla. At the same time, the Chinese economy remains under pressure and consumers remain cautious.

Fierce competition

Xpeng expressed optimism that the company had “come out of the trough and taken a different path from its industry competitors”. Still, he acknowledges that the competition ahead will be tough.
“This year also marks the beginning of a fierce competition that could end in a ‘bloodwash’ (or, as I prefer to call it, a brutal ‘knockout race’) among Chinese automakers,” Xiaopeng wrote in a staff memo.
“Xpeng has been involved in this brutal competition since the beginning, so he has accumulated a lot of experience. I firmly believe that our courage, grit and perseverance will lead us to victory.”