The Norwegians, Swedes, Danes and Dutch are lucky ones. These four northern European countries are home to Xpeng Motors, a Chinese manufacturer founded in 2014 which is part of the constellation of electric and autonomous vehicle startups, in which China is well represented.
In 2018, Xpeng Motors took its first steps internationally, particularly in Norway, the test market for electric cars, with the G3, an electric SUV. The P7 and P5 sedans followed, Digital was able to take charge during a brief stay in Amsterdam (Netherlands), where the company’s European headquarters are located.
Although pre-orders for the P5 opened in March 2022 for the aforementioned European markets, these were suspended in June. Xpeng Motors had then mentioned problems of delays related to the export. On the other hand, the Chinese announced to concentrate on its sports sedan P7. But since nothing, until January 25, 2023, with a tweet announcing the arrival of two new electric vehicles.
Xpeng Motors P7 © Xpeng Motors
It’s now done, with the G9 and a new restyled P7. We had already mentioned the G9, a large five-seater electric SUV available in three versions, with one or two electric motors, in two or four-wheel drive. The 98 kWh battery allows ranges ranging from 570 to 700 km.
But the two main aspects rely on connected infotainment and driver aids (XPilot) with 31 sensors, a front camera and two lidars in the front grille. The whole is managed by two Nvidia Drive Orin CPUs, whose computing power is 508 TOPS (trillion calculation operations per second).
The second particularity concerns recharging, with an 800 V architecture, like the Porsche Taycan, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. Thus, the Xpeng G9 is able to withstand a load of 300 kW, or 100 km in 5 min, or even a 10 to 80% in just 20 min.
The base rates, excluding bonuses, for the G9 are €57,900 for the Netherlands, NOK 499,900 for Norway (€45,386), SEK 699,900 (€61,523) for Sweden and 479,900 DKK (€64,466) for Denmark.
New P7: fast charging power at 175 kW
Although dating from 2019, the P7 gets a restyling in order, in particular with a charging power increased to 175 kW and a 10% to 80% in 29 minutes. As for autonomy, it increases to 576 km (WLTP cycle) for the long-range version in propulsion mode.
An integral version can shoot down the 0 to 100 km / h in 4.1 seconds.
The new P7 is also available with scissor-opening front doors (Wing Edition). Note the presence of an electric tailgate, a heat pump and a heated steering wheel.
The base rates, excluding bonuses, for the G9 are €49,990 for the Netherlands, NOK 439,900 for Norway (€39,938), SEK 599,900 (€52,693) for Sweden and 399,900 DKK (€53,716) for Denmark.
Deliveries of the P7 will begin in June 2023 and in September 2023 for the G9. Xpeng Motors will provide a seven-year or 160,000 km warranty for orders placed between February 3 and December 31, 2023. The standard warranty is only five years or 120,000 km.
Europe, a bubble of oxygen for a saturated Chinese market
This strong comeback on the European market is not insignificant. Indeed, in China, competition is fierce between all manufacturers, local and foreign. Thus, Xpeng Motors experienced a drop in sales during the second half of 2022. The year 2023 does not start under the best auspices with 5,218 vehicles delivered in January, a drop of 59.62% compared to the 12,922 copies of the previous year.
To give itself every chance of performing in Europe, Xpeng Motors plans to open, during 2023, numerous delivery centers and service points in the four European countries where the brand is present. The Chinese manufacturer also said that it would open other service points with dedicated partners “in key European countries by the end of 2023“.
Another initiative to penetrate a still young European market, Xpeng Motors has partnered with the main charging operators including Plugsurfing and Shell Recharge, allowing access to more than 400,000 public charging stations across Europe. The manufacturer will also offer the installation of home charging stations through partnerships with local installers.
We hope that France will be part of it, knowing that the importer of Mitsubishi France is none other than the Swiss group Emil Frey, which already takes care of Xpeng Motors in the Netherlands…