In a statement on 21 October, XPENG Denmark says Google Maps and Google Play are not planned at present for models launched before the L03. As I read it, that covers the G6, G9, P7+, P7 and X9. The reason is technical. According to XPENG Denmark, those models run on a different software and hardware architecture from the new generation, so the services can’t be added with an ordinary software update.
For the G6, G9 and P7+, XPENG Denmark is more specific: the cars can’t meet the requirements of Google’s compatibility test, and adding the services would take new hardware and a new software type approval. Type approval is the car’s EU approval, and when a manufacturer changes something the approval covers, the approval authority decides whether the existing approval can be amended or a new one is needed (EU Regulation 2018/858, Articles 33 and 34).
Updates haven’t stopped. XPENG Denmark says it keeps working on software updates for the existing models, each on its own platform. I’m a beta tester myself, and the beta test of the next XOS 5 update is due to start soon.
XOS 6 is a separate question. XPENG Denmark draws a line between XOS 6 as an interface and the integration of Google Maps and Google Play, and stresses that a new interface does not by itself give the car new features. On whether the existing cars can move to XOS 6, XPENG Denmark says it has not yet reached a final answer for every model. Each model needs its own assessment: the car’s hardware has to carry the new interface, and a change that large also has to fit the car’s other electronics and the approvals it holds. XPENG Denmark will say more as the technical assessments are settled: “We would rather communicate a settled status than promise features we cannot yet confirm.”
XPENG Denmark’s reply says nothing about the new AI-based voice assistant, Apple CarKey or NGP on the existing cars. My take on where each model stands is in the XPENG software roadmap, now updated with XPENG Denmark’s answer.
Image: XPENG
Sources