China’s EV giants challenge Tesla in race to commercialise humanoid robots

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers are opening a new front in their battle with Tesla: humanoid robots. After spending years competing on electric cars and autonomous driving technology, leading Chinese manufacturers including BYD and Xpeng are now accelerating plans to mass-produce humanoid robots, betting that advances in artificial intelligence will unlock a vast new market beyond transportation. The push is expected to strengthen China’s position as a global manufacturing powerhouse for next-generation mobility and robotics, an area increasingly seen as the next major battleground between Beijing and Washington. “I believe China will become the first market to see full commercialisation of humanoid robots,” Stella Li, BYD’s executive vice-president, said in a recent video posted on the company’s official WeChat account. “BYD has made a huge investment in AI, and it will take some time before we reap the rewards.” Li said BYD intended to distribute robots through its global dealer network, although she did not provide a timetable for mass production. The comments come as Tesla continues to promote its Optimus humanoid robot project. In April, Tesla’s China president, Allan Wang Hao, said the company’s Shanghai Gigafactory could eventually manufacture humanoid robots, supporting CEO Elon Musk’s ambition to transform Tesla into a physical AI company. Tesla has yet to commercialise Optimus. Chinese rivals are moving quickly. Xpeng, Li Auto and Xiaomi have all outlined plans to develop humanoid robots capable of performing tasks ranging from factory work and logistics to hospitality and elderly care. “From an intelligence perspective, there are some similarities between automotive companies and humanoid robot makers, both in terms of hardware and software,” said Phyllis Wang, China industrials analyst at UBS. “Technically, carmakers have a natural advantage, both in terms of supply chain and hardware and software capabilities, in building robots.” Last November, Xpeng CEO He Xiaopeng said the company aimed to sell one million robots annually by 2030, while reducing production costs sufficiently to make them affordable for household use. He later said mass production was expected to begin by the end of next year. The remarks came days after Musk publicly praised Xpeng’s next-generation humanoid robot, Iron, while predicting that Chinese companies would eventually dominate the global robotics market alongside Tesla. State-owned Chery Automobile is also investing heavily in the sector through a partnership with AI company Aimoga. The two firms have been developing Mornine, a humanoid robot capable of understanding natural language and interpreting human intentions, since early 2024. Humanoid robots have emerged as one of the most strategically important areas of competition between China and the United States, with both countries seeking leadership in what many regard as the next phase of AI development. Analysts said China holds significant advantages in manufacturing scale and supply-chain depth, allowing domestic firms to produce key components more cheaply than overseas rivals. UBS forecasts global humanoid robot deliveries will reach 30,000 units in 2026, up 58 per cent from a year earlier. Wang of UBS said Chinese manufacturers already accounted for the majority of the global humanoid robot market, although she did not provide specific figures.