Core Insights - The leadership changes in the autonomous driving divisions of Xiaopeng Motors and NIO indicate a competitive evolution in the smart driving landscape, with both companies adjusting their strategies to enhance their technological capabilities [2][19]. Group 1: Leadership Changes - Xiaopeng Motors announced that Li Liyun, the former head of the autonomous driving center, will be replaced by Liu Xianming, who previously led the world foundation model team [1][2]. - Liu Xianming, who joined Xiaopeng Motors over a year ago, has a background in machine learning and computer vision, having worked at Facebook and Cruise [6][8]. - NIO's autonomous driving team also experienced significant personnel changes, with multiple key executives leaving, including the head of the world model and the product lead for autonomous driving [2][19]. Group 2: Strategic Focus - Liu Xianming's promotion reflects Xiaopeng's commitment to advancing its world foundation model, which is crucial for achieving higher levels of autonomous driving capabilities [13][14]. - The world model developed by Liu's team has a parameter scale of 72 billion, significantly larger than current mainstream VLA models, and is designed to enhance the vehicle's understanding of complex environments [14][16]. - The shift in leadership at both companies suggests a strategic pivot towards different technological approaches, with Xiaopeng focusing on the world model and NIO restructuring to improve its AI integration and delivery efficiency [17][19]. Group 3: Industry Dynamics - The autonomous driving sector is witnessing a bifurcation in technological approaches, primarily between VLA (Vision-Language-Action) and world model architectures, with different companies aligning with one of these strategies [17][18]. - The recent changes in leadership and organizational structure across various companies indicate a new phase of competition in the smart driving field, as firms seek to establish their technological dominance [20].

我们获悉，10 月 9 日，小鹏汽车自动驾驶中心发布内部信：李力耘不再担任自动驾驶中心负责 人， 世界基座模型负责人刘先明（Xianming Liu）接替该职位。 刘先明 2016 年博士毕业于伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校电气和计算机工程专业。他曾在 Facebook（现 Meta）、通用汽车旗下的自动驾驶公司 Cruise 任职，从事机器学习与计算机视 觉领域的前沿研究工作。 2024 年 3 月，刘先明加入小鹏汽车，担任小鹏 AI 团队负责人，今年 6 月曾以小鹏世界基座模 型负责人的身份亮相，在本次人事变动前已直接向小鹏汽车董事长兼 CEO 何小鹏汇报。据接 近小鹏汽车的人士透露，何小鹏近期频繁与刘先明就自动驾驶大模型展开深入交流。另一位知 情人士称，刘先明之前在小鹏从事的 AI 研究已经同时在为芯片、具身团队提供必要软件支 持。 目前李力耘仍在职。 AI 大模型是小鹏智驾团队技术研发的重点领域。 文 丨 李安琪 赵宇 编辑 丨 龚方毅 我们就上述事实性信息向小鹏汽车官方求证，小鹏方面回应称，自动驾驶 VLA 大模型是世界基座模 型的一个重要应用，但更难的是让世界基座模型具备对整个世界进行推演的能力，而 ...

Group 1: Partnerships and Collaborations - Horizon and Volkswagen Group announced a collaboration in advanced intelligent driving, leveraging Horizon's HSD technology to enhance Volkswagen's smart transformation in China [3] - Great Wall Motors signed a strategic agreement with Yushu Technology to explore robotics and intelligent manufacturing, focusing on integrating vehicles with robotic technologies [4] - Nuro raised $106 million in funding, achieving a valuation of $6 billion, indicating strong investor confidence in autonomous driving technology [5] - CATL, Ant Group, and Hello signed a strategic cooperation agreement to focus on green intelligent mobility and digital technology [8] - GAC Aion and Didi unveiled an L4 autonomous driving Robotaxi model, showcasing advancements in autonomous vehicle technology [13] Group 2: Technological Developments - DeepOpen launched M-Robots OS, a distributed heterogeneous multi-machine collaborative robot operating system, aimed at enhancing industrial control and autonomous driving applications [7] - Xiaopeng Motors disclosed its "World Base Model" development, which integrates multimodal capabilities and aims to enhance autonomous driving performance [10] - Daimler Trucks North America began delivering an automated truck platform to Torc Robotics, targeting scalable physical AI solutions for autonomous trucking [14] Group 3: Regulatory and Market Trends - The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a meeting to discuss the management of intelligent connected vehicle product access and software upgrades, emphasizing safety and compliance [11] - Hangzhou government released a draft for managing intelligent connected vehicle applications, setting clear requirements for testing and operational standards [12] - Euro NCAP announced that all new cars must include specified physical buttons starting in 2026, aiming to enhance driver control and safety [16]