Xpeng Mona M03 EV launched – world’s lowest drag coefficient, 620km CLTC range, from RM73k in China
Xpeng may just have G6 just launched in MalaysiaBut back in China, the company has moved on to its next big product. The popular electric vehicle maker has introduced the new Mona M03 in China, breaking into the budget electric vehicle market with some impressive specs and pricing.
Look at the world like a budget Pole Star 5The M03 makes good on that claim in part by being incredibly affordable for an EV. Prices start from just 119,800 yuan (RM72,800) for the 515 variant, rising to 129,800 yuan (RM78,900) for the 620 and 155,800 yuan (RM94,700) for the long-range 580 Max.
The variant names, in case you were wondering, correspond to the range figures on the CLTC cycle. All models are front-wheel drive, with the engine in the 515 producing 190 PS (140 kW) and 225 Nm of torque, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.8 seconds. Power is increased in the other two models to 218 PS (160 kW) and 250 Nm, cutting four-tenths of a second off the 0-100 km/h sprint (7.4 seconds).
In terms of range, the 515’s 51.8 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery provides a CLTC range of 515 km, while the larger 62.2 kWh battery increases the range to 620 km on the 620 and 580 km on the 580 Max. The difference between the latter two variants likely comes down to the hardware required for the Max’s additional autonomous driving hardware, which we’ll get to later. Xpeng doesn’t list charging speeds for the Mona M03, only saying that DC fast charging takes 26 minutes to get the battery from 10 to 80 percent SoC.
On the outside, the resemblance to Polestar models comes in the form of the “spaceship” T-shaped headlights and taillights, a significant departure from Xpeng’s usual full-width light bars. The company says the minimalist styling, which features a coupe-like roofline, pop-out door handles, and distinctive C-pillar fins, was created using “AI quantitative design,” whatever that means.
More importantly, the pebble-smooth exterior has allowed the Mona M03 to achieve the lowest coefficient of drag for a production car – an incredible 0.194, achieved through thoughtful measures such as an active grille shutter fitted as standard. The car comes standard with 18-inch wheels shod in low-rolling-resistance tyres, while 19-inch rollers shod in Michelin rubber are available as an option.
The clean aesthetic is repeated inside, where you’ll find a 15.6-inch “floating” touchscreen with a card-style interface, powered by a top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 processor and 16GB of RAM. The car also comes with voice control at all four corners of the car, a standard panoramic glass roof, optional 256-color ambient lighting, and an 18-speaker PSS audio system.
Xpeng says the Mona M03’s interior can be customized through “expansion packs” that will be introduced in the future, like Xiaomi SU7‘ cabin. The boot is a whopping 621 litres, expandable to 1,603 litres with the rear seats folded down; unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a front boot.
In terms of driver assistance, the M03 is said to be the only model in its segment to come with adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist and a 360-degree camera system as standard, along with best-in-class parking assist. Greater autonomy can be had with the Max variant, which adds Xpeng’s XNGP “all-around intelligent driving” technology. This technology runs on two Nvidia Orin chips to enable highly automated driving across China, including on city streets.
So, will the Mona M03 make it to Malaysia? That remains to be seen, but for its part, Xpeng has said that it will bring more models as part of its commitment to the market. Would you buy the Mona M03 if it were priced around RM100,000 to RM120,000? Let us know in the comments after the jump.
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