Skip to main content

Dongfeng's Robot 'Xiaodong' Hits the Factory Floor Next Month

Dongfeng's Humanoid Robot 'Xiaodong' Set to Start Factory Work Next Month

Dongfeng Motor is taking its robots off the exhibition stand and onto the factory floor. On September 20, Zhang Zhenlin, chief general engineer of Dongfeng's intelligent technology division, announced that the company's humanoid robot will officially begin working in the factory this October. Its first tasks? Sorting and quality inspection—the unglamorous but critical jobs that keep manufacturing lines humming.

But don't expect a full-scale robot takeover just yet. By the end of this year, the robot will undergo small-batch testing in limited areas. The ambitious target? Matching human-level performance by the end of next year.

Image

Robotic Dogs to Hit 4S Stores First

Interestingly, Dongfeng's four-legged robots will beat their bipedal cousins to the commercial scene. Zhang revealed that these robotic dogs will be deployed in 4S stores for sales guidance sooner than the humanoid robot. Why? As Zhang puts it, "legs are faster than hands." The quadruped robots will run through commercial service lines first, helping customers and showcasing Dongfeng's tech chops.

The Secret Sauce: Reusing Car AI

Here's the key insight from Zhang: for car companies, the biggest advantage of embodied intelligence is reusability. The perception and decision-making capabilities that Dongfeng has already built for car large models and autonomous driving can be directly transferred to robots. No need to start from scratch with data collection—this subtly accelerates the path to commercial mass production.

Zhang also shared a broader vision: embodied intelligence won't be limited to humanoid or quadruped robots. In the future, the car itself will become one of them. Your next vehicle might just be a robot on wheels.

Key Points

  • Factory deployment: Dongfeng's humanoid robot enters factory in October for sorting and quality inspection.
  • Timeline: Small-batch trials by end of 2026; aim to reach human level by end of 2027.
  • Robotic dogs first: Quadruped robots will be used in 4S stores for sales guidance sooner.
  • Reusability advantage: Car AI and autonomous driving tech transfer directly to robots, speeding up mass production.
  • Future vision: Cars themselves will become embodied intelligence, blurring the line between vehicle and robot.