Xpeng is overhauling its product development structure, merging its four vehicle lines into two in a bid to end the internal competition and overlapping positioning that have dogged recent launches, according to Chinese outlet Huxiu.
The restructuring, reported by 36Kr on September 28 and relayed by Huxiu, consolidates the F, D, I and G product lines into just G and D. The F and I lines will be folded into the G line, which will handle sedans, large SUVs and overseas models, while the D line remains independent and continues to manage the MONA series. The former head of the F line will move to the G line to lead core product definition.
The move is a practical attempt to pull together research and development resources, trim redundant architecture and ease the long-standing problem of overlapping model positioning and pricing that has seen Xpeng's own SUVs compete against each other in the 200,000 to 300,000 yuan (about $28,200 to $42,300) bracket.
Who decides what a Xpeng should be?
Huxiu argues that the deeper issue is not the absence of product managers but the lack of authority for product people at the decision-making table. The article notes that Xpeng founder He Xiaopeng admitted in a 2025 interview that the company long lacked a "product No. 1" position. Wang Fengying, who joined as president, has since taken charge of top-level product work and built a matrix of general managers and platform product directors, shifting the company from a purely technology-driven approach toward a user- and business-oriented product system.
But structural changes alone do not give product teams the power to make trade-offs, the article says. It cites the G9L as an example of a car that loaded up on hardware - dual-chamber air suspension, CDC dampers, rear-wheel steering and advanced driver assistance - yet failed to give buyers a clear reason to choose it, overlapping with the G9 in family positioning and with the GX in the premium segment.
Huxiu points to competitors as models. At Li Auto, product heads have room to challenge and correct decisions internally, the article says, citing how the i8's initial complex trim lineup was quickly cut back after weak market response. At Xiaomi, Lei Jun sets the top-level direction but professional product leaders like Hu Zhengnan, who joined as CTO in 2026, translate strategy into executable product standards.
Three powers a top product role needs
Huxiu argues that Xpeng does not necessarily need a new C-level title, but needs a force in the decision layer that owns the final product outcome. It identifies three powers such a role must hold: the right to define core product positioning, the right to coordinate resources across departments, and the right to veto at key milestones - even when a project is technically feasible and cost-effective, if it deviates from overall positioning, it should be stopped.
The article notes that He Xiaopeng has long valued product talent, revealing that in August 2025 he invited Luo Yonghao, a well-known Chinese entrepreneur and podcaster, to lead Xpeng's flying-car project. But Huxiu cautions that hiring individual talent is different from building an institutional product capability that can consistently produce hits.
Xpeng has invested heavily in technology - an 800V high-voltage platform, advanced assisted driving and a mature electric-drive system - but the article argues that local excellence in R&D, supply chain and sales does not automatically add up to the right car. The restructuring is a step toward fixing that, but the mechanisms and authority to back it up are not yet in place, Huxiu concludes.
