American investors are looking. Building an EV portfolio isn’t exactly spoiled for choice. In addition to Tesla, many companies do not produce cars or if they do, they are so small that it is difficult to know their true potential. Surprisingly, if you want to narrow your choices to companies that produce more than 100,000 cars a year, the US-listed Chinese manufacturers are reduced to a trio.
The Neo is probably the best known of the three, and comes with its own posse of fans who are as militant as some Tesla advocates. The Neo’s main party trick is battery swapping, and it has well-publicized global expansion plans that will see its cars in 25 markets, including most of Europe and the US, by the end of 2025.
Xpeng, like Neo, is already sold in Europe – in fact, Xpeng arrived there first. And unlike the third member of the triumvirate, Li Auto, it is a well-known entity outside of China. Where Xpeng wants to position itself, however, is on the technology side.
While Xpeng hasn’t been as vocal as Neo about its expansion plans, the company is slowly expanding its footprint across Europe: the brand is currently sold in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, and its latest model, the Xpeng G9. , so much for that expansion. The company claims it is the first model designed as a world car.
Just this week, Xpeng announced launch prices for the G9 flagship SUV and the new P7 sports sedan, both with a seven-year, 160,000km warranty, starting at €57,990 ($62,687) for the G9 and €49,990 ($54,040) for the P7. Both are available to order now.
In fact, Xpeng started selling cars in 2011. In 2018 with the G3, it is a small crossover. This was followed by the launch of the 2020 sports sedan P7, which has been the company’s best seller to date. These two models are now available in both Europe and China. In the year In 2021, the brand introduced the P5, a large “compact” sedan, the first model to feature LiDAR and available only in China.
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Photo: Xpeng
Early Xpeng models were similar to electric flagships Volkswagen or Ford. The technology may be pushing into Tesla territory, the choice of materials was on the ground. Here the G9 changes things: not only is it the biggest and most expensive from this launch, but it also seems to be moving into premium.
