XPeng’s Second-Gen VLA Secures Global Regulatory Approval, Set for Overseas Launch in 2027

On June 26, He Xiaopeng, Chairman of XPeng Motors, announced that the company’s second-generation Vehicle Language Assistant (VLA) will enter global markets. This decision follows the recent adoption by the United Nations World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) of the DCAS UN Regulation No. 171, Series 02, which will become mandatory in the European Union in six months and will allow vehicles equipped with automated driving functions to legally access the EU and other WP.29 contracting markets. Concurrently, WP.29 also adopted the UN RADS regulation, applicable to Level 3 to Level 5 automated driving systems. Although currently a framework regulation, it marks the formal entry of automated driving technologies into a globally harmonized regulatory approval phase. XPeng has been deeply involved in WP.29’s Automated Driving Systems (ADS) working group meetings, actively contributing to the formulation and adoption of the world’s first regulatory framework for automated driving technologies. He Xiaopeng stated that overseas users are expected to experience XPeng’s VLA and Vehicle Language Model (VLM) systems by 2027. The VLM features multilingual mixed-input voice interaction capabilities. XPeng’s second-generation VLA, powered by a large physical-world foundation model, began rolling out in the Chinese market in March 2024 and is defined as “the first version designed for full self-driving.” In its first month of deployment, vehicles equipped with this system achieved a milestone: over 50% of their driven mileage was under assisted driving. The implementation of these WP.29 regulations has removed critical regulatory barriers for Chinese automakers seeking to export intelligent driving systems overseas. Previously, despite leading positions in smart driving technology, Chinese companies struggled to enter international markets due to the absence of recognized global regulatory standards. With these regulatory hurdles now cleared, leading Chinese intelligent driving firms—including XPeng and Huawei—are accelerating their expansion into Europe and global markets, where they will compete directly with systems like Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) under a unified international regulatory framework.