According to a research report by China Merchants Securities International, the firm participated in the XPeng Motors (09868.HK) organized test drive event for the second-generation VLA on Monday (September 9). The total test drive distance was approximately 28 kilometers, covering various typical urban road conditions such as narrow roads, blind spots, busy urban roads, and main urban thoroughfares. During the approximately 70-minute test drive, the vehicle performed steadily across different road conditions and complex traffic environments, with the vast majority of participants achieving zero manual takeovers throughout the journey.
The firm noted that the company has introduced the second-generation VLA, a native multimodal physical world model, and achieved higher computational efficiency through its self-developed Turing chip, improving model operation efficiency by approximately 12 times. The integrated hardware-software architecture provides critical support for algorithm iteration and performance optimization, thereby driving continuous advancements in autonomous driving capabilities.
The firm is optimistic about the company's technological accumulation and iterative capabilities in the field of intelligent driving, which are expected to further strengthen the competitiveness of its product line and facilitate the commercial launch of its Robotaxi business within the year. Additionally, the development of the VLA system is also expected to synergistically enhance the model capabilities of the company’s robotics business (anticipated to enter mass production this year). The firm maintains its 'Outperform' rating for XPeng, with a target price of HKD 115 for XPeng’s Hong Kong shares and USD 29 for XPeng (XPEV.US) American Depository Shares. A further assessment of fundamentals, earnings forecasts, and target prices will be conducted after the company releases its March financial results.
