XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV) CEO He Xiaopeng has widened his push to showcase the company's autonomous-driving technology, inviting hundreds of international media outlets and influencers to China to test its VLA 2.0 intelligent driving system as the automaker seeks to build global credibility for its next-generation software.

XPENG Expands Global Test Drive Push

In a post on X on Wednesday, He wrote, "Can’t wait to welcome more international media to take on the VLA 2.0 challenge," while reposting a clip of Toby Clarke from ev.com testing the system and praising the experience.

The challenge He referenced is XPENG's VLA 2.0 Gold Challenge, which the company has framed as an outgrowth of internal testing built around extreme driving scenarios selected by its community.

XPENG has been using those scenarios to judge whether the system can complete routes with zero or only minimal human takeovers, tying performance to "gold" rewards. The company has already opened second-generation VLA testing to more than 200 domestic media outlets and expanded test drives to hundreds of retail stores across China.

The automaker describes VLA 2.0, short for Vision-Language-Action, as an end-to-end AI driving model that converts perception directly into driving decisions instead of relying on the more layered approach used in older systems. The company says that architecture improves reaction speed, reduces dependence on high-definition maps and handles dense traffic, narrow passages and unpredictable obstacles more naturally.

XPENG also says early road testing showed VLA 2.0 required five times fewer driver interventions than Tesla Inc’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) FSD version 13.2.9, which it described as the latest version then available in China.

Strong Sequential Recovery In March Deliveries

XPENG, last week, posted a sharp rebound in March, delivering 27,415 vehicles, up 80% from February. Even so, deliveries still fell 17% from a year earlier, showing that the company regained momentum sequentially but did not fully recover on an annual basis.

For the first quarter, XPENG delivered 62,682 vehicles, down 33.3% from a year earlier but still within its own guidance range. That mix suggests the company met expectations for the quarter overall, even as its year-over-year volume remained under pressure.

XPEV Stock Below 20-Day SMA

The stock is currently trading 3.53% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 9.01% below its 100-day SMA, indicating some short-term weakness. Shares have decreased 12.87% over the past 12 months and are currently positioned closer to their 52-week lows than highs.

The RSI is at 53, which is considered neutral territory.

Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that XPEV has a positive price trend in the short term, but a less favorable outlook in the Medium and Long term.

Photo courtesy: THINK A/Shutterstock