American investors looking for to build an EV portfolio is not quite spoiled for choice. Besides Tesla, there are many companies that haven’t made cars, or if they do, are producing them in so small quantities that it’s hard to know their true potential. What’s interesting, however, is that if you want to narrow your selection to companies that make more than 100,000 cars a year, you’ll be reduced to three Chinese manufacturers listed in the United States.
Nio is probably the best known of the three, and comes with its own set of fanboys who are almost as combative as some Tesla supporters. Nio’s main party secret is battery exchangeand has been widely published world expansion plan will see its vehicles in 25 markets, including much of Europe and the US, by the end of 2025.
XPeng, like Nio, was sold in Europe—in fact, XPeng got there first. And unlike the third member of the trio, Automobiles, which is an entity better known outside of China. However, where XPeng wants to assert its position is in the technology aspect.
Although XPeng is not as vocal as Nio about its expansion plans, the company is slowly expanding its footprint across Europe: The brand is currently on sale in Norway, Sweden, Denmark. and the Netherlands, and the latest model, XPeng G9, is a lot about that extension. The company claims this is the first model to be designed as a car in the world.
Only this weekXPeng has announced launch prices for the G9 flagship SUV and the new P7 sports sedan, both covered by a seven-year, 160,000-km warranty, starting at €57,990 ($62,687) for the G9 and €49,990 ($54,040). ) for G9. P7. Both are available to order.
Indeed, XPeng only started selling cars in 2018 with the G3, a small crossover. It is followed by the P7, a sports sedan, due out in 2020, which is the company’s best-selling model to date. These two models are now available in both Europe and China. In 2021, the brand launched P5a sizable “compact” sedan, the first to feature Lidar and only available in China.
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Photo: Xpeng
Previous XPeng models resembled a mainstream electric Volkswagen or Ford. While the technology may have pushed hard into Tesla territory, the choice of materials is well-founded. Here, the G9 has changed everything: It’s not only the startup’s biggest and most expensive ever, but it seems to be moving into the premium direction.
