Founded in 2014 by He Xiaopeng—a former Alibaba executive—from Guangzhou headquarters, XPeng established smart EV positioning through software-first approach with in-house autonomous driving and full-stack development launching the G3 first production vehicle in 2018 before the 2020 NYSE IPO. The technology company mindset drives vertical integration with OTA update culture enabling rapid iteration incorporating customer feedback, while AI integration focus powers voice assistant development and smart cockpit innovation following the Chinese tech startup model pursuing global smart EV ambitions. XPeng represents Chinese automotive evolution from manufacturing to software—treating cars as smartphones on wheels with continuous OTA updates, AI integration, and rapid iteration cycles that traditional automakers cannot match, proving that tech company culture applied to automotive development can outpace established manufacturers locked into multi-year product cycles. The brand validates that China's tech expertise translates into automotive advantage when software defines vehicle experience more than hardware, demonstrating that autonomous driving and smart cockpit development benefit from internet company agility rather than traditional automotive engineering processes, and that sometimes the best path into automotive manufacturing comes through software expertise rather than mechanical engineering heritage when vehicles become computers that happen to have wheels.