XPeng, which will launch its first two models in Europe this summer, is not quite a Chinese manufacturer among many others, come to try its luck on the European automobile market. Born ten years ago in the Guangzhou province (south of China), the brand does not belong to a conglomerate nor is it a direct emanation of the State. Which, a priori, does not prevent it from benefiting from large subsidies from the Beijing government.
XPeng, named after its founder, He Xiaopeng, is a start-up whose main shareholders are Alibaba, an Internet sales platform, and Didi, the Chinese equivalent of Uber. This brand, which has grown like a mushroom and continues to lose money, has built a flattering reputation by focusing on the two strong points of Chinese brands. Unbeatable prices, of course, but also formidable know-how in terms of centralized IT architecture. In other words, everything that makes modern electric cars smartphones on wheels.
A recognized technological value, XPeng, which devotes 40% of its payroll to research and development activities, has been the subject of assiduous courtship by Volkswagen, in difficulty on the Chinese market. The German group invested 630 million euros to take a 5% stake in the company’s capital, in order to be able to co-develop a specific platform for its future models intended for China.
Top of the line
XPeng produced, in 2023, 140,000 vehicles, which is not exceptional by the standards of Chinese manufacturers, but wants to climb to the top of the basket by presenting itself as a Chinese-style Tesla, starting from nothing to carry out a great design and quadruple its production in the short term. The difference is that XPeng’s related activity is not space conquest, but flying taxis, of which the firm has developed a prototype.
This posture is, in truth, not wildly original, but the XPeng models have the good taste not to ape the American manufacturer, whose star has been slightly tarnished in recent months. They keep a good distance from the mold defined by the American manufacturer and the exoticism that often permeates the made in China automobile, without falling into conformism.
Positioned at the high end of the range, not too ostentatious, the brand is presenting itself on the French market with two SUVs marketed this summer. The G9 is a luxury model (from 60,000 to 74,000 euros), which has a profusion of screens, including one, reserved for the front passenger, who can follow its program without the driver being able to have visual access to it. Like the brand’s other models, the interior layout is beautifully crafted.
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