Xpeng said on October 26 that its Yoyo robotaxi program had received approval for Level 4 autonomous-driving demonstration trials across Guangzhou, the Chinese automaker’s home city. The authorization advances the service toward public use, but does not open it to everyone immediately: Xpeng plans to expand access gradually through invitation codes during the initial phase.
The approval follows a series of development milestones in 2026. Xpeng obtained a Guangzhou road-testing permit in January, formed a dedicated robotaxi division in March and put its first production robotaxi into production in May. The vehicle completed an internal test ride in July. By an August earnings call, the company said it had carried out more than 2,000 internal rides in Guangzhou and completed development of a cloud-based system for remote intervention.
The Yoyo is based on Xpeng’s GX flagship SUV and is designed for L4 operation. Its setup uses a camera-based approach without LiDAR or high-definition maps, four in-house Turing AI chips rated at a combined effective 3,000 TOPS, and the company’s second-generation Vision-Language-Action model. Xpeng has said it aims to provide passenger rides without safety drivers in 2027. It also plans to work with major ride-hailing platforms in China and overseas, with potential income from vehicle sales, technology services and a share of operating revenue.