XPeng accused of radar downgrade and sales fraud in China
XPeng reportedly reduced millimeter-wave radar sensors in 2023-model G6 vehicles from five to three units without clear consumer disclosure, then retroactively modified product specifications in its app after complaints emerged. The company claimed the reduction was a technical upgrade to pure vision autonomous driving, but owners reported degraded performance and legal experts raised concerns about concealment of material facts affecting purchase decisions.
What happened
XPeng reportedly reduced millimeter-wave radar sensors from 5 to 3 units in 2023-model G6 vehicles without transparent disclosure to consumers. When customers discovered the missing sensors during repairs, XPeng claimed a 'hardware simplification' to implement an 'AI Eagle Eye pure vision' technical upgrade while maintaining equivalent functionality.
XPeng altered the specifications in its electronic user manual via the XPeng App after complaints emerged, changing the listed radar count from 5 to 3 units. The company's PR response characterized this retroactive change as a routine product 'synchronization' update.
Reported impact
Car owners report degraded autonomous driving performance after the radar reduction, particularly in challenging conditions including nighttime, tunnels, strong backlighting, snow, and rain. Multiple owners cite incidents of 'phantom braking' due to obstacle detection errors, inaccurate preceding vehicle distance calculations, and failures to properly identify construction zones and large vehicles.
Legal experts and car owners argue the reduction in sensor count directly affects vehicle safety redundancy, perception capability, and decision-critical factors that influenced purchase decisions, particularly given XPeng's prior marketing emphasizing '31 intelligent driving sensors' and 'god's perspective' capabilities.
Index analysis
XPeng had publicly promoted G6 models with claims of '31 intelligent driving sensors' and 'super strong perception' capable of achieving an instantaneous 'god's perspective' before implementing the radar reduction. The company's subsequent explanation of 'pure vision' compensation contrasts with industry practice in which most vehicle manufacturers employ multi-sensor strategies for redundancy.
The modification of digital documentation after customer complaints, combined with initial denials and later recharacterization of a hardware reduction as a technical 'upgrade,' raised concerns among consumer advocates and legal specialists about intentional concealment of material facts affecting purchase decisions.
Governance controls
A consumer filed a complaint with China's 12315 consumer hotline, with local authorities indicating the matter involved potential fraud requiring court proceedings. The case has been formally filed in court and is pending trial scheduling.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.