Xpeng Inc. ( XPEV ) shares are moving higher on Tuesday after the company announced it is considering investing up to 100 billion yuan ($13.8 billion) in humanoid robots.

What To Know: Xpeng ( XPEV ) CEO He Xiaopeng reportedly stated during an annual parliamentary session that while the company’s current investment is conservative, it is considering a significantly larger commitment to the sector, according to Chinese state media.

The company has been in the industry since 2020 when it released its humanoid Iron to compete with the Tesla Bot. He reportedly stated that the company may remain in the sector for another 20 years and invest an additional 50 billion to 100 billion yuan, per Reuters.

XPeng ( XPEV ) is one of several automakers increasingly focusing on humanoids, an area gaining strong support from Chinese policymakers. For instance, Stellantis-backed Leapmotor has formed a team of dozens working on early-stage robot research, CEO of Leapmotor Zhu Jiangming said Tuesday.

The robots are designed for industrial settings, like Leapmotor's factory operations, where they could replace humans to boost work efficiency.

What Else: Xpeng ( XPEV ) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on March 18 before the market opens. Analysts estimate a revenue of $2.12 billion and a loss of 28 cents per share.

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XPEV Price Action: At the time of writing, Xpeng ( XPEV ) stock is trading 13.5% higher at $26.06, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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