Chinese EV makers accelerate robotics drive for 'game-changing' edge over US

Group 1: Industry Trends - Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers are intensifying efforts to build humanoid robots, positioning themselves as potential game-changers in the hi-tech sector amid Beijing's ambitions to surpass the US [1] - The market potential for humanoid robots is believed to be greater than that for cars, according to industry leaders [3] Group 2: Company Initiatives - Xpeng aims to achieve sales of 1 million units of its humanoid robot, Iron, by 2030, following positive endorsements from Tesla CEO Elon Musk [1] - Xpeng's CEO, He Xiaopeng, stated that the cost of producing humanoid robots will eventually match that of car manufacturing, facilitating household adoption in the near future [2][3] - Mass production of Xpeng's humanoid robots is expected to commence at the end of 2026 [4] - Chery is collaborating with AI company Aimoga to develop Mornine, a humanoid robot designed to understand human language [5] - Nio is exploring robotics with plans to create a robotic dog, while other companies like BYD, Gac Group, and Seres are also venturing into robotics [6]