Humanoid Robot Stocks: XPeng is Close to Mass Production 

Chinese technology powerhouse XPeng is close to commencing mass production of its IRON humanoid robots. Recently, the company has discussed its production plans on several occasions, revealing that it’s on track to achieve mass production by the end of 2026.

Here’s a look at some recent developments.

On the Cusp of Mass Production

On May 27, XPeng held a large-scale internal humanoid robotics meeting, according to Chinese media platform Sina Tech¹. This marked a significant milestone, signaling that the company is officially shifting its humanoid robot project from the research and development phase into a serious, high-priority manufacturing push.

At this meeting – which involved nearly 1,000 employees from across the company’s automotive, powertrain, manufacturing, testing, and general AI divisions – XPeng founder and CEO He Xiaopeng said that the company is on track to achieve mass production of its IRON humanoid robots by the end of the year. He also said that these robots are expected to begin working as sales assistants in its retail stores during the first quarter of 2027.

Drawing a parallel with the automotive side of the business, He Xiaopeng told staff that today, the humanoid robotics side of the business is where XPeng Auto was eight years ago. Since then, the company has grown its automotive segment significantly, to the point where it is now selling hundreds of thousands of vehicles per year.

It’s worth noting that back in February, XPeng began construction of its humanoid robot mass production base in Guangzhou. This facility spans approximately 110,000 square meters and is designed to support large-scale, end-to-end production across the full humanoid robotics supply chain.

Insights on the Q1 Earnings Call

We then got more insight into the company’s production and commercialization plans in the Q1 earnings call on May 28². Here, the company said that the mass production version of IRON will be built to automotive grade safety and reliability standards and that many of the company’s existing automotive supply chain partners have become component partners or suppliers for IRON.

On the call, He Xiaopeng noted that the company has recently completed development of its proprietary next-generation humanoid robot dexterous arms, which are significantly more agile and also substantially lower in cost. It has also built a multidimensional data system to train IRON's brain and cerebellum models meaning that it now has full stack R&D capabilities.

In terms of applications and commercialization, He Xiaopeng said that he wants to initially place the IRON robots in XPeng showrooms. Here, they will be able to interact with humans and introduce products.

Once the robots become more sophisticated, the company expects to see more opportunities or collaboration with partners in its ecosystem (they could be trained to work as cashiers or assisted shoppers for example). Starting next year, revenues from humanoid robot hardware and AI models are expected to emerge as a key driver for revenue and growth for XPeng Group, said He Xiaopeng.

Exploring the Humanoid Robotics Supply Chain

While these developments are exciting, investors should remember that there are many companies currently developing humanoid robots. So, is there no guarantee that XPeng will have success with its IRON product.

Given the competitive landscape, those interested in gaining exposure to the humanoid robotics theme may wish to explore the Themes Humanoid Robotics ETF. This aims to track the Solactive Global Humanoid Robotics Index (SOLGHRBN), which identifies companies that operate in areas such as humanoid and service robotics, industrial and autonomous robotics, assistive and wearable robotics, AI and cognitive robotics, robot mobility, and actuation and mechatronics.

Footnotes:

¹Gasgoo News, XPENG Robots Enter Mass Production Sprint Phase, as of May 27, 2026

²Yahoo Finance, XPeng Inc. (XPNGF) Q1 FY2026 earnings call transcript, as of May 28, 2026