- Xpeng will launch customized smart driving insurance products with insurance companies, based on its accumulated technologies and user data.
- The insurance products will focus on solving the liability definition and safety protection of users when using smart driving features.
Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) is said to be launching dedicated insurance products to further increase the use of smart driving features by its users.
The electric vehicle (EV) maker will soon join hands with some insurance companies to launch customized smart driving insurance products, based on its long-accumulated technologies and user data, local media China Star Market reported today.
The insurance products will cover core functions including NOA (Navigate on Autopilot) in cities and highways and auto-parking, focusing on solving the liability definition and safety protection of users when using smart driving functions, according to the report.
The products' entitlements may be tied to data including users' smart driving mileage and usage time, the report said, without providing further details.
He Xiaopeng, Xpeng's chairman and CEO, hinted earlier this month that the company was continuing to bet on smart driving technology and expected to see big new developments in a few months.
Later this year Xpeng would be the first to implement L3 full-scenario autonomous driving, giving users an unprecedented smart driving experience, Mr. He said in an internal letter on February 5.
"I believe that L3 autonomous driving will drive AI cars into the 'iPhone 4 era,'" Mr. He said, according to the internal letter, which was obtained by CnEVPost.
Chinese car companies currently refer to their smart driving systems as L2, with some using expressions like L2.9 for marketing purposes.
L3 is more of a legal concept that deals with how much responsibility a car company has in the event of a potential accident.
The latest report hints that Xpeng may take the initiative to take responsibility for potential smart driving accidents with the help of insurance products to demonstrate its confidence in its abilities as well as to increase the trust of its users.
Notably, the now defunct Baidu-backed Jiyue had launched similar insurance products in March last year.
Jiyue would take responsibility if a car owner was involved in an accident while using the pilot assisted driving feature, and would cover the resulting rise in insurance costs for the following year.
Xpeng to achieve L3 autonomous driving in H2 2025, CEO says in internal letter
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