Hajra Naz
XPeng has switched on something notable. The Chinese automaker calls it the world’s first automated production line for advanced humanoid robots. XPeng’s IRON robot then walked off that line under its own power. According to XPeng, the line runs with more than 80% of its core processes automated. This marks the clearest signal yet. It shows IRON is genuinely heading toward real manufacturing.
The robot first went viral back in November 2025. Its walk appeared so smooth that people accused XPeng of hiding a person inside a costume. Engineers even cut open its leg on stage to prove otherwise. Now, the company has moved from prototypes to actual line manufacturing. This production takes place in Guangzhou.
XPeng describes this setup as automotive-grade throughout. Essentially, it borrows quality systems originally used to build electric cars.
“The robot production lines were created from scratch with no precedent to follow,” said He Xiaopeng, XPeng’s chairman and CEO. “Today’s step is small, but XPENG is building the production lines for an entirely new product category.”
The company says this approach ensures consistent quality across critical processes. It also supports rapid capacity expansion going forward. Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng even clipped a staff badge onto IRON directly. This gesture signals the robot now sits on the company’s payroll.
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The manufacturing base itself is enormous in scope. XPeng announced this facility back in February. The full-chain facility spans roughly 110,000 square meters. It sits within Guangzhou’s Guangtang Sci-Tech Innovation City, located in Tianhe District. Notably, XPeng has developed robotics technology for seven years now. The company evolved from early quadruped machines into this current work.
The specifications here are genuinely impressive on paper. IRON stands 178 centimeters tall and weighs 70 kilograms. It features 76 degrees of freedom across its full body. It also has 21 degrees of freedom in each hand.
Three in-house Turing AI chips power the robot. Together, they deliver 2,250 TOPS of processing power. Additionally, all-solid-state batteries help keep the robot’s construction lightweight. IRON runs XPeng’s second-generation Vision-Language-Action model directly onboard.
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This robotics business also arrives well funded. On August 24, the unit raised more than $900 million. That funding came at a $6.3 billion valuation. IDG Capital led this round. Tencent and Alibaba both participated as well. XPeng called this China’s largest single embodied AI private raise to date.
There’s an unflattering comparison here for Elon Musk. He once predicted Tesla would build 10,000 Optimus robots in 2026. However, Tesla is still in the process of converting a car line for this purpose. XPeng, meanwhile, has already turned one on entirely. Even so, initial IRON deployments will stay limited for now. They’ll remain confined to XPeng’s own stores before a planned 2027 commercial launch.
