A Dongfeng humanoid robot on display at the Shanghai auto show in April 2025. Credit: CnEVPost
- Dongfeng’s humanoid robot will enter factories in October to handle sorting and quality inspection, with small-batch trial production to begin at the end of the year.
- The company’s in-house developed robot dog will be put into commercial use sooner than the humanoid robot.
Dongfeng Motor plans to begin small-batch trial production of its humanoid robot at the end of this year, becoming the latest Chinese automaker to set a timeline for putting robots into use.
Dongfeng’s humanoid robot will enter factories in October this year, mainly targeting the manufacturing sector and taking on tasks such as sorting and quality inspection, Zhang Zhenlin, chief engineer of intelligent technology at Dongfeng, said, according to a report by Yicai on Sunday.
Zhang said the robot will undergo small-batch trial production at the end of this year, and the company plans to bring its working capabilities on par with those of human workers by the end of next year.
The remarks were made at Dongfeng’s tenth science and technology innovation week earlier this week. During the event, Dongfeng released a series of plans, including the “Tianjing Zero Carbon” plan and an embodied intelligence vehicle protection plan.
Dongfeng’s in-house developed robot dog will be put into commercial use sooner than the humanoid robot, first entering scenarios such as customer guidance at dealerships, according to Zhang.
In his view, automakers’ development of embodied intelligence products allows technology to be reused across multiple areas such as automotive large models, thereby speeding up commercialization and mass production.
He added that in the future, embodied intelligence products will not be limited to humanoid robots or robots in general, and vehicles themselves will also be a form of embodied intelligence product.
Dongfeng’s humanoid robot Xiaodong and quadruped robot Yuanzai made their debut at the 2026 World Robot Conference held in August this year.
Xiaodong is specifically targeted at material sorting scenarios in automotive manufacturing for continuous validation, and beyond performing single repetitive actions, it is evolving toward fully autonomous execution of flexible operations, according to Dongfeng.
Yuanzai supports autonomous navigation, multimodal perception and intelligent interaction, and is suited to scenarios such as campus patrol and smart services. It is likewise being upgraded toward autonomous operation.
Dongfeng’s timeline is in line with the trend of Chinese automakers rushing into the robotics race. They generally believe that the strengths accumulated in their automotive businesses in supply chains, manufacturing and AI can be replicated in robotics.
Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) put a humanoid robot production line into operation on September 8 and reiterated that its Iron robot will begin mass production at the end of this year, with plans to launch and deliver it in China and overseas in 2027.
Aimoga Robotics, incubated by Chery (HKEX: 9973), has delivered more than 3,000 robots globally, including more than 2,000 overseas.
Aimoga is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise funds for further expansion and technology investment, according to a Reuters report in August.
Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI), Seres (SH: 601127) and Leapmotor (HKEX: 9863) have also disclosed plans this year to enter the embodied intelligence field.
At the same event, Dongfeng Motor deputy general manager Zhou Feng unveiled an overseas expansion plan. The company will invest a cumulative 50 billion yuan ($7.41 billion) in overseas markets and launch more than 50 models.
Dongfeng also plans to build 10 large-scale overseas production bases and 5 overseas R&D centers, targeting overseas sales of 1.5 million vehicles by 2030.
Xpeng’s humanoid robot production line has begun operating, with Iron walking off the line autonomously after assembly.
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