• Liu Xianming, with expertise in AI, replaced Li Liyun as head of Xpeng's autonomous driving center.
• Xpeng will announce major breakthroughs in physical AI at this year's AI tech day event.

Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) has replaced the head of its smart driving team, marking one of the most significant changes since Wu Xinzhou's departure as the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker intensifies its focus on artificial intelligence (AI).

The company announced in an internal memo on October 9 that Li Liyun is stepping down as head of Xpeng's autonomous driving center, with Liu Xianming, head of the World Base Model, taking over the role, according to a report yesterday by local media outlet LatePost.

Li remains at Xpeng, the report noted, without specifying his new role.

Liu earned his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2016 and joined Xpeng in March 2024 as head of the AI team, the report noted.

He previously worked at Meta and Cruise, General Motors' autonomous driving subsidiary, conducting cutting-edge research in machine learning and computer vision.

Liu appeared in June this year as the company's head of World Base Model and reported directly to Xpeng chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng prior to this change.

Mr. He has recently engaged in frequent in-depth discussions with Liu regarding autonomous driving large models, LatePost cited a source as saying.

Another source indicated that Liu's prior AI research at Xpeng has already provided essential software support for the chip and embodied intelligence teams.

Liu possesses a background in cutting-edge research within machine learning and computer vision, standing as an outstanding technical expert in AI and autonomous driving, Xpeng responded to LatePost.

He will lead the team to accelerate the application of Xpeng's physical world foundation model in the AI vehicles and expand the company's leading edge in smart driving assistance, the company said.

This marks the most significant change in Xpeng's autonomous driving team since August 2023, when Wu, the company's vice president of autonomous driving, departed to join Nvidia. The role was then assumed by Li, who previously led the planning and control department.

AI large models represent a key focus area for Xpeng's smart driving team's R&D efforts. LatePost noted that since Liu's arrival, he has collaborated with teams to advance the evolution of autonomous driving technology toward AI large models.

Separately, another domestic media outlet, Yicai, reported yesterday that Xpeng will announce major breakthroughs in physical AI and key progress in the world foundation model's simulation capabilities at this year's AI tech day event.

Yicai said that Xpeng's AI team has been investing over a year in developing a foundation model for the physical world, reconstructing its methodology in the physical AI area starting from the underlying AI infrastructure.

The foundation model under development utilizes the largest dataset ever employed for such a model, positioning it as China's most advanced physical AI large model, the report said.

This initiative represents a crucial step toward achieving large-scale level 4 autonomy, enabling rapid deployment of Turing AI driving systems to other countries while also allowing technology reuse in AI vehicles and AI robots, according to Yicai.

This marks one of the latest changes within the autonomous driving teams of China's new automakers.

Earlier yesterday, Yiou reported that several executives from Nio Inc's (NYSE: NIO) smart driving team departed recently as the EV maker continues organizational restructuring.