XPeng’s Robotaxi cleared to run a passenger service across Guangzhou

What Guangzhou has approved

On 26 October, XPeng said its Robotaxi, XPENG YOYO, had been formally approved for demonstration operations at Level 4, the level at which the car drives itself, with no one needed at the wheel. Candice Yuan, who heads the Robotaxi business, wrote that Guangzhou’s qualification lets XPeng run them across the city (广州全域).

Under Guangzhou’s rules, demonstration operations are the step at which a self-driving service becomes a business. Cars that testing has shown fit to carry passengers do so on the city’s designated roads, and the operator may charge fares once it holds the transport department’s operating certificate. Only commercial operation comes after it.

The permit holds in every district, on the roads the city has opened to self-driving cars: 1,375 roads, about 2,662 kilometres, at the end of September. It lasts up to three years. Every car still needs a safety operator, on board or, where safety is assured, working remotely.

The step after the invited rides

The permit is the latest in a run of steps in XPeng’s home city. A road-test permit in January started routine testing on public roads. On 27 August, XPeng said its Robotaxi had a Guangzhou permit for remote testing: road tests with no safety operator in the driver’s seat, on the city’s designated Level 1, 2 and 3 test roads. On 8 October, it opened rides to invited users outside the company and called demonstration operations “the next stage”. Eighteen days later, that stage has its permit.

8 October: as recorded in XPulse’s article that day.

For riders, little changes at once. In the first phase, Candice Yuan wrote, the team will keep handing out invitation codes and widen the service area step by step. XPeng has not yet disclosed the size of the fleet or a fare. CNA, Singapore’s broadcaster, put the Guangzhou pilot at close to 100 cars on 9 October.

The permit also completes what XPeng planned for this year. Its Robotaxi page lists two items for 2026 in Guangzhou: this qualification and staff ride testing, which began in the summer. On 28 May, one XPeng release put demonstration operations in the third quarter and its results release in the second half of 2026. The permit came 26 days after the third quarter ended. Each date is on the Management Tracker.

What it means for the business

XPeng does not plan to run robotaxi fleets itself. It wants to sell the cars, the system and services to partners who do, and take a share of commissions. Running the service in Guangzhou, Candice Yuan wrote, will build the experience to supply “mature, replicable” Robotaxi solutions to partners around the world. On 13 October, He Xiaopeng said XPeng was in in-depth talks with several leading European ride-hailing platforms, and expected to make progress public soon.

Pony.ai and WeRide, both based in Guangzhou, are further along with the service: they already run paid rides there with no one in the car but the passengers. Where XPeng leads is the car, which it designs and builds itself, on its own line in Guangzhou.

XPulse’s reading: a licensed passenger service in its home city gives XPeng a working example that partners can inspect and ride in. XPeng has reported no Robotaxi revenue yet. The next tests are a first partner fleet and passenger rides with no safety operator on board, its goal for 2027.