IRON is XPENG's flagship humanoid robot and a central pillar of the EV maker's "physical AI" strategy. First unveiled at XPENG's AI Day in 2024 and substantially advanced at AI Day in November 2025, IRON is a highly anthropomorphic humanoid built around a biomimetic spine and muscle system, a flexible outer skin, and a 3D curved head display. XPENG has committed to large-scale mass production of IRON by the end of 2026, putting it in direct competition with Tesla's Optimus. The robot drew global attention in late 2025 when its strikingly human-like gait led some observers to suspect a person was inside — prompting XPENG to expose parts of its mechanical structure on camera to prove it was a machine.
Price Range
IRON is not yet on sale. XPENG is targeting large-scale mass production by the end of 2026, initially for commercial service applications. No confirmed retail price has been announced; a robotics aggregator's ~$150,000 figure is an early estimate only.
| Basis | Figure |
|---|---|
| Aggregator early estimate | ~$150,000 (indicative only) |
| Confirmed price | Not announced |
| Mass-production target | End of 2026 (XPENG, stated repeatedly) |
| Long-term ambition | Up to ~1 million units by 2030 (stated goal) |
| First applications | Commercial service — retail, hospitality, reception |
Full Specifications
IRON has iterated through multiple prototype generations (the late-2025 stage unit was described as a "seventh generation"). Figures reflect the publicly described next-generation design.
| Spec | Value (reported) |
|---|---|
| Height | ~1.73 m |
| Weight | ~70 kg |
| Joints / DOF | ~60 joints; ~200 total degrees of freedom |
| Hand DOF | 22 per hand |
| Structure | Biomimetic "bone-muscle-skin" design — flexible spine, bionic muscles, soft flexible outer skin |
| Head | 3D curved display integrated into the head |
| Vision | "Eagle-Eye" 720° vision system |
| Compute | XPENG in-house Turing AI chips (multi-chip stack; ~2,250–3,000 TOPS cited in demos) |
| AI | XPENG VLA 2.0 (Vision-Language-Action) multi-brain foundation model |
| Software | Tianji AIOS; cloud-connected; OTA updates; SDK to be opened to global developers |
| Power | Solid-state battery (high energy density, lightweight) |
Model Breakdown
IRON has progressed through several prototype generations rather than distinct sale variants — from the 2024 first-generation reveal through the late-2025 next-generation unit, with an "eighth generation" referenced for the late-2026 production run. XPENG is building a dedicated ~110,000 m² humanoid mass-production base in Guangzhou to industrialize it.
Buyer's Guide: What to Know
You cannot buy IRON yet. Mass production is targeted for the end of 2026, starting with commercial service customers — not consumers.
It shares DNA with XPENG's cars. IRON deliberately reuses XPENG's automotive AI, chips, and supply-chain infrastructure — the core of the "physical AI" thesis and, XPENG argues, its path to mass production.
The biomimetic design is the signature — and the reason for the "is it human?" moment. The flexible spine, bionic muscles, and soft skin produce an unusually human gait. That realism is a deliberate design goal.
Treat the price as unknown. No official price exists; the ~$150k estimate is speculative. Evaluate IRON on its 2026 production reality, not current figures.
IRON vs Similar Robots
- IRON vs Tesla Optimus: The headline automaker-vs-automaker race — both target end-of-2026-era mass production, both stress dexterous hands and shared AI/manufacturing with their car businesses.
- IRON vs Figure 03: Both pursue lifelike, human-friendly humanoids with advanced VLA-style AI; Figure has paying-customer history, IRON has XPENG's manufacturing scale.
- IRON vs UBTECH Walker S2: Both are flagship Chinese humanoids, but IRON targets service roles with a biomimetic design while the Walker S2 targets factory uptime.
Source: XPENG Robotics
