Autonomous Driving and Advanced Safety Systems: According to CAM, XPENG is the World's Most Innovative Automotive Group
- Chinese high-tech company demonstrates the highest level of innovation
- Independent ranking by the German “Center of Automotive Management” (CAM)
- Robotaxis to launch as early as 2026 in the Chinese home market
Munich, 26 November 2025 – XPENG is the most innovative automotive group in the world when it comes to safety systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving: No other manufacturer is as advanced as the young Chinese high-tech company. This is the conclusion of the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) from Bergisch Gladbach in a recent analysis.
Partial automation has long been standard among Chinese automotive brands. In particular, they have outpaced international competitors in ADAS over the past three years. In 2024 alone, the share of Chinese brands in global innovation strength was over 70 percent. According to the study, German manufacturers accounted for 14 percent, while US brands reached only twelve percent.
Among the ten most innovative automotive groups, eight are Chinese manufacturers: XPENG leads the field with an innovation score of 65.6. The gap to the runner-up is more than seven points, while the best-placed European (34.3) is only about half as innovative as XPENG.
XPENG achieves around half of its innovation strength through developments related to autonomous driving at Level 2+ capability. Advanced assistance systems such as XPILOT, which is standard on every XPENG model, support the driver and create a partially autonomous driving experience on certain routes. Depending on the market and regulations, vehicles from the Chinese high-tech electric car brand can even operate at higher levels of autonomy (Level 3.0 and 3.5).
“I am pleased that the independent Center of Automotive Management has once again confirmed XPENG’s pioneering role: Customers are already benefiting from advanced technologies that support them in everyday life, providing greater comfort and safety. At the same time, these systems are paving the way for autonomous driving,” explains Markus Schrick, Managing Director of XPENG Region Central Europe.
The Chinese high-tech company will demonstrate what this could look like starting next year: XPENG will launch three robotaxi models in its home market. Equipped with China’s first self-developed full-stack model, which includes four Turing AI chips, computing power of up to 3,000 TOPS, and advanced AI-supported operating systems, the vehicles will operate autonomously. In partnership with Amap, which belongs to the Alibaba Group, the robotaxi services are also set to be established worldwide.
The Connected Car Innovation (CCI) study by the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) collects and compares the performance and innovation strength of 30 global automotive groups with around 100 brands in the areas of connected vehicles and connected services, as well as their market strength, based on various empirical indicators. The study is based on the AutomotiveINNOVATIONS database of CAM. For a comprehensive analysis of connected car trends, more than 2,300 connectivity-relevant innovations from the years 2020 to 2024 (including 419 in 2024 alone) were analyzed in the technology fields of safety systems/ADAS (e.g., autonomous driving, lane keeping assistants), information and communication systems (connectivity, V2X, software services), and control and display concepts (interfaces, voice control, augmented reality).
Further information can be found online at https://auto-institut.de/presse/autonomes-fahren-deutsche-hersteller-noch-vorn-doch-die-trendwende-naht-connected-car-innovation-cci-2025/.
