Xpeng Motors Launches Industry's First Crowdfunding for Chip Upgrade

On November 11, Xiaopeng Motors announced the start of the industry's first chip upgrade crowdfunding, which will be held from November 11 to December 12, 2024. This crowdfunding will be carried out in a vehicle-by-vehicle manner, and once the predetermined goal is reached, preparations for the relevant models can be started. If the crowdfunding is successful, Xiaopeng Motors will notify users of subsequent service matters through the APP. Please note that this event does not support refunds, and the funds raised will be used immediately for research and development. If the crowdfunding fails, the paid funds will be returned to the user within 15 working days. The specific chip upgrade prices are: 4,999 yuan for the cockpit chip upgrade, from 820A to 8295 chip, and memory upgrade to 16GB. The intelligent driving chip upgrade is 19,999 yuan, from single Orin to dual Orin, and the intelligent driving computing power is upgraded to 508TOPS. Xiaopeng Motors said that after receiving chip upgrade requests from some old users, the company conducted a lot of technical and commercial evaluation work. The reason for choosing the crowdfunding method based on vehicle types is that the hardware upgrade of intelligent driving and smart cabin requires relatively high R&D costs, including the redesign and development of relevant controllers, the adaptation and development of intelligent driving and vehicle software systems, as well as software and hardware integration testing and vehicle testing. This upgrade project is expected to take 10 months (300 man-months) and RMB 9 million in R&D expenses.