(Yicai) May 22 -- Xpeng Motors has released China's first end-to-end large language model for mass-produced vehicles, which will likely triple the intelligent driving capability of autos, according to the Chinese electric vehicle startup's chief executive.

More powerful intelligent driving systems, or even fully automatic unmanned systems, will appear in the next years after the initial end-to-end model, He Xiaopeng, who is also chairman of the Guangzhou-based carmaker, told Yicai. There will only be a handful of companies that can achieve autonomous driving, he noted.

In addition to improving vehicles' intelligent driving capability, Xpeng's end-to-end LLM will significantly enhance their ability to perceive and predict the intentions of surrounding traffic, according to the firm. The model will start helping autos run on all roads in China in the third quarter and achieve Level-4 intelligent driving next year.

Xpeng's intelligent driving system can make one iteration every two days with the help of the LLM and achieve 10 to 30 times of experience optimization within 12 to 18 months, He pointed out.

Xpeng's research and development spending may exceed CNY7 billion (USD967 million) this year, of which half will go for artificial intelligence and intelligent driving, He said. If the firm does not invest, it cannot stand out from its competitors during elimination rounds, He noted.

Xpeng's net loss narrowed 41 percent to CNY1.4 billion (USD190 million) in the three months ended March 31 from a year earlier, according to its first-quarter earnings report released yesterday. Revenue surged 62 percent to CNY6.6 billion.

Deliveries rose 19.7 percent to 21,821 units, Xpeng said. The gross profit margin was 12.9 percent, compared with only 1.7 percent a year earlier, it pointed out.

The gross profit margin jumped significantly in the first quarter despite fierce competition, said Gu Hongdi, co-president of Xpeng. This reflects the latest results of the company's unique business model of enhancing profitability through intelligent technology output, Gu added.

Xpeng's revenue from service and other businesses nearly doubled to CNY1 billion, mainly thanks to service income from the platform and strategic software technology cooperation with German auto giant Volkswagen Group.

Deliveries will likely reach 29,000 to 32,000 units this quarter, up between 25 percent and 38 percent from a year earlier, Xpeng noted. Revenue may jump 48 percent to 64 percent to between CNY7.5 billion and CNY8.3 billion.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Maritn Kadiev