If I asked you to picture the technologies that feel most futuristic – the ones sci-fi has been promising for decades – what would come to mind? Probably robots, flying cars and driverless taxis, right? That’s exactly the future Chinese electric-vehicle maker XPeng showcased recently. 

At its 2025 AI Day, XPeng didn’t reinvent itself so much as scaled up its ambitions. Once known primarily as a smart-EV brand, it now wants to be seen as, what Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng calls, a “Physical AI” company, blending its latest AI breakthroughs with real-world embodiment. In other words, those futuristic machines we imagined are starting to arrive. 

From hype to hardware 

What appeared on stage weren’t brand-new ideas – we’ve seen robots, flying cars and autonomous taxis before – but they were presented with something rare: ambition grounded in realism.  

Each concept came with clear use cases, production timelines, and an open discussion of safety and regulatory hurdles. In a space often dominated by hype, XPeng’s tone felt refreshingly grounded.