He Xiaopeng was born on November 3, 1977, in Huangshi, Hubei, China. He is a pioneering businessperson and the Chairman and CEO of Guangzhou Xiaopeng Automotive Technology Co., Ltd., which is better known as XPeng Motors. He is a key player in China’s electric vehicle (EV) and smart mobility revolution. He has turned XPeng into a global competitor in the crowded EV market by using his background in technology and innovation to change the way people get around.
From being a tech innovator to being an EV pioneer
He Xiaopeng started out in the tech world before becoming a big name in the car industry. He got his bachelor’s degree in computer science from South China University of Technology in 1999. He then started working at AsiaInfo Technologies, where he was a project manager and technology manager. He helped start UCWeb, a mobile internet software company, in 2004 and was its Chief Product Officer. UCWeb made the proprietary U3 engine under his leadership, which helped the company gain a large share of the mobile browser market in China. Alibaba Group bought UCWeb for $4.3 billion in 2014, one of the biggest deals in Chinese internet history. This made He a billionaire. After that, he worked as a senior executive at Alibaba, where he was in charge of the mobile business group and later Tudou.com and Alibaba Games until 2017.
He Xiaopeng left Alibaba in August 2017 to work for XPeng Motors, a company he co-founded in 2014 with Xia Heng and He Tao, who had both worked as executives at Guangzhou Automobile (GAC). At first, he was an investor and supporter. Then he became Chairman and CEO, using his tech knowledge in the car industry. He wanted to build “China’s Tesla,” which would be smart, connected electric vehicles with advanced AI and self-driving features.
Making XPeng Motors
Under He’s leadership, XPeng Motors has grown from a small company in Guangzhou to one of the biggest EV makers in China. The company is listed on the New York and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges and makes smart electric vehicles for people who are good with technology. The G3 SUV was XPeng’s first car, and it came out in 2018. Then came the popular P7 sedan and the flagship X9, which is known for its advanced AI and super-fast charging. The company has added factories in Zhaoqing and Guangzhou to make cars, and it plans to build a third factory in Wuhan to make 100,000 cars a year.
Alibaba, Xiaomi, Foxconn, and Volkswagen have all made big investments in He Xiaopeng‘s strategic vision. Volkswagen bought a 4.99% stake in 2023 for $700 million. XPeng’s IPO on the NYSE in 2020 brought in $1.5 billion, and shares rose more than 40% on the first day of trading. He stresses the need to balance making money with coming up with new ideas for the long term, even though XPeng lost 1.28 billion yuan in the second quarter of 2024. The company delivered 190,000 vehicles in 2024, which is a 34.2% increase from the year before.
Leading the way in AI and self-driving cars
XPeng’s focus on AI and self-driving cars comes from He Xiaopeng’s background in technology. XPeng is a leader in Level 3 automation thanks to its XPILOT driver assistance system, which uses lidar, radar, and cameras. The company plans to have fully autonomous vehicles by 2025. He told The Straits Times in 2024 that only seven big car companies would be around in ten years, and that AI would be a big part of what set them apart. XPeng’s system, which was first tested in Guangzhou in 2022, lets cars drive through cities with little help from the driver. He thinks this technology could easily work in regulated markets like Singapore.
XPeng showed off its first humanoid robot, “Iron,” at its AI Day in 2024. This showed that the company wants to do more than just make electric vehicles. The robot, which is 5’8″ tall and weighs 154 pounds, has more than 60 joints and helps put together the new P7+ model. This shows that XPeng is using robotics in its business.
Going into flying cars
He Xiaopeng’s biggest risk is that XPeng’s AEROHT division is putting money into electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) planes. He said in 2025 that he would spend 3 billion yuan ($413 million) to build a factory in Guangzhou that would be able to make 10,000 flying cars a year by 2026. He thinks that the global market for flying cars could be worth $2 trillion in 20 years, which would be more than the market for regular electric vehicles. XPeng is getting into the business of futuristic transportation with the first mass-produced “land aircraft carrier” split flying car, which is scheduled to come out in 2026.
Vision and Leadership
His style of leadership shows how he has changed from a tech entrepreneur to an industrialist. In a 2025 interview with Late Post Auto, he talked about how hard he worked, often putting in six and a half days a week to learn the ins and outs of manufacturing. He stresses the importance of being simple, working together, and being strong, and he sees failures as chances to learn. His global goals include growing XPeng into more than 30 countries, with a focus on advanced markets like Singapore, where XPeng started in 2024.
Problems and disagreements
XPeng has a lot of competition in China’s electric vehicle market, with companies like Tesla, NIO, and BYD in the lead. A 2020 post on X called He Xiaopeng “He Thief,” saying that XPeng copied Tesla’s designs. However, these claims have not been proven and are more about competition than real evidence. He has talked about how hard it is for the EV market to slow down, calling 2024 a “knockout round” for Chinese automakers. However, he is still hopeful about XPeng’s growth, especially because of AI improvements.
A Legacy in the Works
His rise from a coder to a billionaire EV pioneer shows how well he can connect technology and transportation. With XPeng Motors, he is not only taking on big companies all over the world, but he is also changing the way we move with AI, self-driving cars, and flying cars. He said in a 2021 interview with the South China Morning Post, “The future of mobility is vehicles that use robotic science and artificial intelligence.” He Xiaopeng is pushing XPeng to become a game-changer in the global automotive industry with his unending drive and creative vision.
